Deadly Dreams
by ChandaK562
Summary: When Paul decides to have a little fun with Elmer, can the others find him in time? Kingdom Hospital story
1. chapter 1

Paul stalked through the hospital, a frown on his face. It seemed like he just couldn't find anyone to torment and it was about to drive him crazy, well crazier than he was naturally. That little pest Mary and her pet were upstairs guarding Rickman so he couldn't get to him at the moment.  
He supposed he could o and find that old biddy, Druse, give her a good scare, That just didn't seem like it would be enough fun though. If he could just find someone new to torment for a bit. Maybe that other brat?  
What was her name, now? He just had a bad feeling about that kid.  
Something was off about her and he didn't think it was entirely due to a lobotomy either.  
  
As Paul tried to figure out who to amuse himself tormenting, he passed the door leading to the sleep lab. Suddenly he stopped, turning with a smirk and walking through the door. His smirk grew larger, his fangs showing slightly when he spotted Lona, her head pillowed in her arms as she slept in her chair, leaning forward on her desk. He hadn't done anything with a woman, well one besides Druse, in awhile. He could have some fun here!  
  
He slowly approached Lona, one hand reaching out and gently ruffling her hair, causing a cold chill to run up her spine. He let out a slight laugh as his hand started to run lower, from her hair down her back.  
Suddenly he stopped what he was doing when he caught sight of Elmer, sound asleep on one of the beds on the other side of the glass. He moved away from Lona with a smirk, heading for Elmer instead. The loser would be even more fun that the woman, especially if he was anything like that freak of a brother of his.  
  
Elmer's eyelids twitched as if he was in the grip of some sort of suddenly frightening dream as Paul approached him but he didn't awaken.  
Paul looked down at the young doctor. Yes, this was definitely going to be fun but now what did he want to do with him. After a moment, his smirk grew and he started to change, a moment later standing there in the shape of Elmer's late mother, Emma.  
  
"Elmer," Paul whispered in Emma' voice, barely able to keep himself from laughing as the loser twitched in his sleep and softly moaned.  
Oh, this was going to be too, too good! "Elmer, wake up, son."  
  
"Mom?" Elmer's mind was still in a fog, not quite aware of what was going on, not able to force his eyes open. He could hear a voice though, a voice that sounded like the mother that he could only dimly remember. "Mom?" He called again. Something wasn't right about this,  
more than something wasn't right about this but he couldn't wrap his mind around it. How could his mother be here? She had dumped him when he was barely more than a baby. How could he know what her voice sounded like after so long?  
  
"Elmer, it's time to get up." Paul paused for a moment before continuing to speak, not exactly sure what he was wanting to do with Elmer.  
Then the perfect idea hit him. "It's time for you to go home."  
  
Home? Elmer's fog filled brain tried vainly to process what the voice was saying even as he felt himself slowly standing and following after his mother. Something somewhere deep inside of him knew that something was very wrong with this situation and he shivered with a sudden cold rush of fear. What was happening to him? This couldn't be his mother, he knew that this couldn't be his mother there with him. His mother was dead and she... she had never wanted him to begin with . Why would be here now when she had never wanted him?  
  
"Mom?" He whispered. Although he knew that whoever was speaking to him couldn't be his mother, he felt himself compelled to follow the voice anyway, his body moving forward mechanically as they headed for the door out of the sleep lab, his eyes still firmly closed. He was cold, so very cold, and he knew that this was wrong but he couldn't stop himself from following.  
  
"Lona?" his voice was barely audible as he called out her name.  
Lona, she would help him, she would save him from this and make everything okay.  
  
"No, don't call for Lona. Lona doesn't like you, remember?" Paul said in Emma's voice, softly reproving Elmer. "Lona just thinks that you're a loser that she can use to get what she wants. Do you remember that, son? All of the things that she's said to you when all you've done is try to be nice to her?"  
  
"Yes." Elmer felt himself saying the affirmative although he wanted to shout out objections, to defend Lona against whatever this was.  
What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he able to control his body, his mind?  
'Lona, please do something! Help me!' he thought frantically as he exited the sleep lab following the voice.  
  
"That's it, son. Lona doesn't care for you but I do. I'm you're mother and I'm going to take care of you. Just come with me and we'll go right home. You'll never have to worry about anything again." Paul smirked as Elmer followed behind him robotically, starting to slowly clime the stairs. Once he got the loser up onto the roof, it would be a snap to make him fall off. It would kill his father when he found out that his second son had committed suicide as well and as for the woman, well, he was sure she would be haunted forever by guilt. He was barely able to restrain himself from laughing as they continued up the stairs. This was going to be fun! 


	2. chapter 2

Lona moaned slightly as she awoke, the throbbing pain in her neck from the position that she had been laying in along with an ache in her cheek from where it has pressed against the edge of the keyboard finally being enough to disturb her sleep.  
  
"Elmer, why in the world did you let me do that?" Lona muttered under her breath although she knew full well that Elmer was fast asleep himself and couldn't have very well done anything to prevent her now aching neck and cheek. She stood, stretching a bit to try to ease the pain in her neck anyway. She couldn't believe that she had just dropped off to sleep like that. She never did that. After all, she was the one who was supposed to be studying what happened when people slept, not taking naps herself.  
  
With a soft sigh, she headed for the lab area to check on Elmer and make sure that he hadn't gotten himself into any trouble while she was sleeping herself.  
  
"Elmer?" she softly called as she stepped in, not wanting to wake him if he was sleeping. A moment later, she stopped in surprise when she saw the empty bed and disconnected wires. "Elmer?" She called louder now as she hurried towards the bed, picking up the wires that had been removed and starting to check them as she felt annoyance beginning to build. If he had damaged those things because he had gotten bored and decided to wonder off on her....  
  
"Elmer, now where are you?" She muttered under her breath when she had reassured herself that her equipment was fine. Honestly, this was just like Elmer, not being where he was supposed to be, not doing anything he was told to do. Really, how HARD was it to lay there and sleep?! Couldn't he do one simple little thing right?  
  
Just then she saw something that made her stop her mental rant about Elmer's childishness. She reached out, picking up the clothing that he had changed out of before laying down. What were Elmer's clothes doing here when Elmer was gone? She looked from the pile of clothes to the bed,  
puzzlement starting to replace annoyance. If Elmer had gotten bored and decided to go home, wouldn't he have put on his clothes first? And his shoes? He could be a bit childish and silly, but not so silly that Lona thought he would try driving home in a hospital gown. That was a sure fire way to get drug back to the hospital in a little white jacket.  
  
"Elmer?" She called his name again as she headed towards the bathroom. Maybe he was just in there and she had been getting all worked up for nothing. She knocked on the door before pushing it open. No, no Elmer.  
  
"Elmer?" Was he playing some sort of joke on her, something like that thing he did with the head? Lona felt annoyance starting to return as she thought of that. If Elmer thought that he was going to have some fun and scare her....  
  
"Elmer, if this is a joke, it isn't funny! Get back in here now!"  
She yelled as she looked around the lab once more. A joke, it had to be a joke but her eyes kept being drawn back to that pile of clothing. She didn't know why but something about his clothes being there bothered her no matter how hard she tried to force the concern down.  
  
"Elmer?" She shook her head as she headed for her computer. If Elmer was trying to play a trick on her, then she would just turn the tables on him. He forgot that he had been connected to the monitors and they would show rather nicely what he was up to. She punched in the codes to pull up the records of the last few minutes of that night's session.  
Honestly, if Elmer thought he was going to trick her.... That's what this was, another stupid prank. Why did she keep looking at that pile of clothing though? Why did something just feel wrong about it being here?  
  
Lona expected the record to show some sign of Elmer waking up but her eyes widened as she looked at the data, having to go back and check it once more to take it in properly. The brain wave activity was much higher than it would be for normal sleep but it wasn't like Elmer was waking, more like he was dreaming and....  
  
Lona smacked a hand against her forehead as it suddenly hit her what must have happened. Elmer was sleepwalking! That was the only thing that made sense. He wouldn't have just wondered out of here without his clothes, even for a joke. And now that she thought of it, she doubted that he would have left her to sleep like she was and wake up sore. He would have at least tried to get her into one of the beds.  
  
She stood and headed towards the door, peering up and down the hallway, searching for any sign of Elmer. How long had he been gone? The record had stopped almost twenty minutes before but had he left the lab then or.... Fear was rapidly replacing any annoyance with Elmer now, along with a growing annoyance with herself for falling asleep even though there was no way she could have known that Elmer would chose that night to decide to have a sleepwalking episode. Where could he be?  
  
Lona moved back towards the lab, picking up the phone and dialing the number for Otto's desk as she tried to gain control of her fears. How far could Elmer have gotten, anyway? They were in a hospital, after all.  
Surely someone would have found him and brought him back here if.... She couldn't shake the fear though, the rapidly growing sense that something was wrong, that she needed to find Elmer right away.  
  
"Otto, have you seen Elmer anywhere in the last twenty minutes?"  
Lona asked, shaking her head slightly when Otto answered in the negative.  
That ought to be good news, shouldn't it? Elmer hadn't wondered out into the parking lot or something, anyway. For some reason it did nothing to comfort her, though.  
  
"Listen, Otto, if you see Elmer anywhere, page me, okay? And don't let him leave the hospital, for goodness sakes!" Lona said before hanging up the phone and heading out the door of the lab. She was sure that she was being ridiculous and she kept trying to tell herself that she was getting worked up over nothing very serious at all but the fear was almost overwhelming now. She had to find Elmer quickly and she was going to need help to do it. 


	3. chapter 3

Mary looked up from watching Peter sleep, suddenly sensing something, she wasn't sure quite what, was wrong. She looked around the room, slightly shivering as she did so, expecting Paul or Dr. Gottreich to jump out at her at any moment. No, the problem wasn't here, she finally realized.  
  
"I have to go now, Peter," Mary said softly as she leaned over,  
pressing a kiss against his forehead before walking through the door and out into the hallway. "Antibus, where are you?"  
  
'What's wrong, Mary?' Antubis asked as he came strolling down the hall to join his little friend with Blondi following along behind him.  
  
"I'm not sure." Mary said slowly. "Something just feels.  
wrong." Suddenly she stopped and looked closely at the large anteater.  
"Antubis, have you been raiding Dr. James' cupcake drawer again? You have frosting in your fur."  
  
'He couldn't possibly eat all of them,' the anteater said as he stuck his long tongue out, licking the frosting from his fur as he and Blondi followed along beside Mary. He tilted his snout upward as he walked, tilting his head slightly to the side as if sensing something.  
Mary was right, there was something wrong, well more wrong than usual.  
What was happening, though, and where was it?  
  
Elmer shivered as he stepped from the warmth of the Sunshine Ward out onto the now enclosed deck on the roof. Cold, it was so cold, way colder than he knew it should be even for fall in Maine. His mind screamed for him to wake up, to turn around and flee back inside but it was as if his mind and body were no longer connected. "Lona, please," he whispered as he felt himself moving forward, towards the enclosed ledge.  
  
Paul frowned as he looked at the metal fencing surrounding the roof edge. He had completely forgotten that they had enclosed the area after the loser's freak of a brother had his little accident. That could be dealt with, though. He pressed his hands firmly against the metal fencing a pushed on it, an evil smirk on his face as it gave a crack, part of it snapping off at the bottom. All that would need to be done for it to break completely would be for the loser to fall against it. Everyone would think that it broke as he was trying to climb over or something.  
  
Paul turned toward Elmer once more, frowning when he saw the young doctor was still standing by the doorway. "Son, come to me," he said softly in Emma's voice. "It's time for you to come home now."  
  
"Mom?" Elmer knew that this couldn't be his mother, but he felt himself moving towards the voice anyway. "Mom?" She hadn't wanted him had never wanted him, so why would she be here now calling for him?  
  
"That's right. Just come to me and I'll take you home now. No one will hurt you anymore. Wouldn't you like that? To go someplace where you won't be hurt?"  
  
"You, you didn't want me." Elmer stopped, not able to do what his mind was screaming for him to do and run back inside and down to the sleep lab but somehow able to grab enough control back to keep from moving towards that voice. He shivered as a cold wind rushed around him, causing the hospital gown to flap about in what he would have found to be a humiliating manner if he was in control enough to know it.  
  
"Of course I want you. Just a few more steps, son, and you'll be where no one can hurt you anymore. Don't you want that? To be with me and your brother?" Paul whispered, struggling to keep from laughing as he watched the expression on Elmer's face. Oh, this one was even more of a freak than his brother! "It won't hurt anymore, I promise. Just come to me."  
  
"Mom?" Elmer found himself moving forward again despite how hard he tried to fight against it. "Lona," He moaned her name as he moved forward. Where was she? Why wasn't she here to save him from whatever this was. He knew it couldn't be his mother.  
  
"Lona hates you, Elmer. Do you remember all of the things she's done to you, said to you? You're just a little lab rat to her. Just forget all about Lona." Paul whispered, smiling as Elmer's outstretched hands brushed against the fencing. "That's it. Just a few more steps and you'll be with me."  
  
No. Elmer stopped abruptly as he felt the wires of the fence under his fingertips and realized what it was, where he was. He fought,  
regaining control of his body once more and jumping back away from the fence with a cry fright. He didn't know how but he was on the hospital roof. His eyes blinked as he fought for control, trying to will himself to wake up. He had to get out of here, get back to the sleep lab before.  
He let out a sob of grief and fright as he recalled seeing his brother after he had jumped from the roof, his body shattered by the fall. No, no,  
no! He had to get out of here!  
  
"No, Elmer, don't fight it." Paul frowned as the loser moved away before smirking once more as he observed Elmer's now terrified expression.  
This might be even more fun, to let him be good and scared before he took the final plunge. "What do you have waiting for you back there anyway?"  
Paul continued in Emma's voice, circling around Elmer as he spoke. "Your father doesn't care for you. He only loved your brother, remember? He thinks you're just a loser and a disgrace to his name. What do you have to go back to? Just come with me and let me take you away from all of this."  
  
Elmer shook his head, praying to wake up even as he struggled with what the voice was saying to him. Okay, he had kind of always suspected that his father cared more for Edgar than he ever did for him but to hear someone actually saying it. He felt tears stinging his eyes as he felt his feet moving towards the edge once more. Why, why couldn't anyone ever just love him?  
  
"That's it. It will all be over soon," Paul said softly as Elmer advanced, his hands brushing against the metal wires once more. "Just a few more steps and you'll never be hurt again. And just think of how everyone will feel after. They'll all be sorry."  
  
Elmer felt himself pushing on the wire, felt it starting to give way under his hands. "Lona, please!" He moaned as he fought for control desperately. He didn't want to die up here! 


	4. chapter 4

Lona moved down the hallway, slowly enough that she oculd check behind each closed door for Elmer and yet at the same time moving as quickly as she could. She kept struggling to regain control of her emotions but it was almost impossible now. something, some force, just kept driving her own, telling her it was important for her to find Elmer and the sooner the better.  
  
"Emer, where are you?" She muttered under her breath as she looked inside yet another supply closet. Honestly, why did they need so many closets and nooks and crannies in this hospital? So many places that Elmer could get lost or stuck in or.... She forced herself to pause, taking a deep breath to regain control but it was really no use. Okay, maybe intellectually she knew that even if he was sleepwalking, Elmer was likely in no danger, but it was like that idea just wasn't sinking in.  
  
Lona hesitated for a moment as she stood next to a door, hand raised. She wasn't sure if she should do this or not. Elmer would probably be humiliated if anyone knew about this anf goodness knows that she felt embarrassed as anything about it. Elmer had been helping her out,  
after all, and she couldn't even keep him safe! After a short internal struggle, she forced herself to knock, though. She needed to find Elmer and soon. In order to do that, she was definately going to need assistance.  
  
"Hook, I know you're in there!" She called when there was no response to her knock. "Open this door right now or I swear I'm going to tell Dr. James that you're living down here! I have a problem!" Lona shook her head as she thought of her co-worker's living arrangement. She didn't even want to know what had possessed him to literally live at work.  
"Hook!"  
  
"Lona, what do you need?" Hook poked his head out of the door,  
being careful to keep it shut far enough that she couldn't see inside.  
"I need your help." Lona ignored his obvious reluctance to let her in, pushing past him and through the door, her worry for Elmer's safety overriding anything else for the moment.  
  
As Lona came in, she heard a shriek from the bed and glanced over just in time to see a blone head dive under the covers. "Chris?"  
Embarrassment washed over her as she realized what she had likely just walked in on.  
  
"Lona, what's going on?" Hook asked as he reached for his shirt,  
flesh rippling slightly as he moved. He could tell by the expression on Lona's face that she was torn between embarassement over walking in on him and Chris and worry over something.  
  
"It's Elmer." Lona felt awkward now that she was hear having to try to explain this. It seemed like it was such a minor thing and she kept trying to tell herself that it was honestly nothing to worry about but she just couldn't shake the fear no matter how hard she tried.  
  
"He didn't play another joke, did he?" Hook groaned as he passed Chris her clothing under the covers. Honestly, was Elmer ever going to learn?  
  
"I wish he was." Lona said slowly, shaking her head. She could feel the fear increasing and it was all she could do to stay in one place instead of rushing to the door and continuing to hunt for Elmer. "He was helping me with an experiment and I must have nodded off. When I woke up he wasn't in the lab."  
  
"Lona, he probably just went home." Hook shook his head, not sure why in the world Lona interupted them for something like this. And they were just getting to the good parts too.  
  
"His clothes are there! He didn't just walk out! Elmer might be childish and silly but do you think he's silly enough to go home in a hospital gown?" Lona hissed. "I took a look at the recording I was doing of his brainwaves. I think he might be sleepwalking." She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get control back. "Please, will you help me find him? I've looked everywhere down here and he isn't here. If he's just wandering around te hospital in his sleep....."  
  
Hook paused for a moment, considering what Lona was saying, shaking his head slightly at the new prediciment that Elmer had managed to get himself into. Honestly, the things that the younger doctor got messed up in where unbelievable at times. If Lona was right about him sleepwalking,  
though, he did need to be found if for nothing else than to be on the safe side.  
  
"Okay," he said as he motioned for Lona to follow him out the door. "We'll help you track down Elmer and get him back to bed. Just give Chris a minute to get dressed."  
  
Lona slowly nodded although she didn't really want to wait any longer than necessary. The bad feeling was growing by the minute as something told her that she needed to find Elmer soon. 


	5. chapter 5

"Any sign of him?" Lona asked as she met up with Chris and Hook in the lobby. She had been unable to stand waiting any longer than necessary to get on with her search for Elmer and have told them to meet her there whenever they were ready to help.  
  
"Lona, calm down, okay?" Chris's eyes widdened slightly as she looked at her friend anxiously pacing and she spoke, looking around the room anxiously and almost trembling. What in the world was going on here?  
The last she had heard, Lona had still been ticked with Elmer over that little head incident so what was she acting so upset over him suddenly disappearing. Chris rubbed at her eyes, trying to get her mind focused fully on the situation at hand.  
  
"It's been almost forty minutes." Lona glanced anxiously at her watch as she paced. She couldn't believe that this was happening. How could Elmer have just vanished like this? What could she ever tell Louis?  
She bit her lip, trying to calm herself and regain control but that was definately a lost cause now.  
  
"Okay, Lona, Chris is right, here. You need to get hold of yourself and tell us what happened so we can help you find Elmer, okay?" Hook said.  
He still wasn't entirely sure that what was going on wasn't just part of some attempt at a prank on Elmer's part. 'Oh, Elmer, if this is a joke I hope you know that you're doomed when she finds out.' Hook thought as he and Chris tried to lead Lona off to a private area near the hospital entrance. "Okay, now what was going on before you noticed Elmer was missing?"  
  
Nothing unusual," Lona said slowly, her mind going back over the events of earlier that night. There had to have been something that she missed, some clue that something was going to happen with Elmer, that something was wrong! "I hooked him up to the monitors and he went right to sleep. He's done that a million times and nothing like this has ever happened before."  
  
"You're sure he's sleepwalking? Chris asked her. "Couldn't have have just gotten up and left, maybe went to the bathroom or something?"  
  
"That's the first place I checked." Lona said with a shake of her head. "He wasn't there. And sleepwalking is the only thing that I can figure might have happened from the EEG readout right before Elmer vanished. He definately wasn't awake." She stopped, looking towards the hospital doors. What if Elmer had accidentally wandered out there? It was cold that night, colder than expected and in just a thin hospital gown.  
Not to mention the fact that the hospital wasn't in the safest location to begin with. If Elmer ran into any of the drug dealers who hung out in the alleyways around the hospital.... Or cars? He could wander right into traffic and never even realize the danger until it was too later. What if.... She bit back a sob of sudden fright. "The parking lot. Someone needs to check the parking lot. Otto's always talking with Bobby Druse.  
Elmer could have went out and he would have missed it totally."  
  
"I'll go." Hook said as he started towards the door. "Why don't you and Chris try to figure out where else we should check for Elmer?"  
  
"Lona?" Chris looked on her friend with concern as Hook headed out of the doors. She had never seen normally cool, collected Lona acting like this and to see her acting like this over Elmer, someone she had claimed to be nothing but a giant annoyance.  
  
Lona just shook her head slowly. She wasn't sure that she could really explain what was wrong to her friend if she tried. "I don't know,"  
she said slowly. "It just feels like there's something telling me that I have to find Elmer right away before something happens." Lona dropped her gaze for a moment, her mind running over possible hazards. If Elmer was still asleep, who knows what he might have wandered into accidentally.  
This was a hospital. Surely someone had seen him and figured out the problem. Why hadn't they led Elmer back to the safety of the lab?  
  
"Lona, we'll find him." Chris said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, still trying to puzzle out what in the world was going on with her friend as she spoke. "Okay, where have you checked so far?"  
  
"Everywhere downstairs. The labs, supply closets. the morgue."  
The morgue had been the place she had felt the most hopeful about, thinking thatp possibly a dream had driven Elmer back there especially after their last encounter. No sign of him though.  
  
"Well, he isn't in the parking lot as far as I can tell." Hook said as he came back in. "And how many floors could he have went on without being seen?"  
  
"The psych floor for one." Chris said with a shake of her head.  
"Remember how clueless those people up there are? They don't even keep track of their own patients much less sleepwalking doctors."  
  
"Tell me about it," Hook said with a shake of his head as they hurried to the elevators. "Maybe he could have wandered into the office areas too. Lona, what about paging him?"  
  
"I don't know if that could do any harm if he's still sleepwalking." Could Elmer even hear and comprehend a page if he was still asleep? Lona wasn't all together sure of that. She suddenly felt herself shivering uncontrollably as she slumped back against the wall. She couldn't resist it, that feeling that something very bad was going to happen to Elmer unless she could get there soon and do something to prevent it.  
  
"Lona, we'll find him. Elmer couldn't have gone far." Chris said,  
trying to give Lona what she hopped was a reassuring smile that everything would work out. "  
  
Lona nodded although she was very afraid that Elmer might have gone much further than Chris or Hook were thinking. Okay, Hook couldn't find him ine parking lot but that didn't mean he might not have wandered out and got lost in an alleyway or.... She bit her lip, taking control again only febly, this time. "I'm coming, Elmer. I'm coming." She whispered solfty under her breath. "Just hold on for me." 


	6. chapter 6

Paul silently chuckled as he heard the fence creaking as Elmer continued to try to move forward. Not long now and the loser would go over. Paul couldn't wait to see him hit the ground and then to see the look on his father's face when he found out that his other son had gone nuts and offed himself too. Paul moved closer to Elmer, smirking when he saw that the young doctor's face was wet with tears. Really, what a wimp!  
  
"That's it, Elmer." Paul said softly in Emma's voice. "Just a little bit more and you'll be with me. You want that, don't you? To be with me and your brother?"  
  
Elmer tried to shake his head no in reply but he couldn't even manage that simple movement now. He didn't want to join his mother and brother, not in death! He was so cold though and it felt like he had no control of his body at all, now not only from whatever this thing was who was pretending to be his mom but from the numbing cold as well. He could feel himself crying as he moved forward, could feel the tears starting to freeze on his cheeks as the fence started to give way beneath the pressure.  
He started to hyperventilate as he despirately tried to regain control.  
He was going to fall of the roof and die just like his brother did and everyone would think that he had killed himself when.... No, he didn't want to die! He wanted to live, to win Lona, to be happy! If he could just get control for a moment, if he could stop himself before....  
  
Suddenly Elmer felt himself slumping to the ground, the cold overpowering him. As he fell, he felt himself once more in control of his body for a moment and he allowed himself a slight smile. Okay, freezing to death on the hospital roof wasn't exactly what he was hoping for but it was way better than falling off the roof. At least this way, no one would think he had tried to kill himself.  
  
Paul growled as he saw Elmer fall to the ground. Blast, he had almost had him! "Get up!" He hissed in his own voice before reverting once more to Emma's tone. "Son, you can't just stay there. It's time for you to come and be with me and your brother. We're both waiting for you."  
  
Elmer couldn't respond but he just laid there, not even trying to move or to resist now. His eyes were firmly shut and the numb feeling was spreading to his brain now as he felt the cold increasing. Tears continued to run down his cheeks. Where was Lona? He didn't want to freeze to death up here either but.... Where was Lona? Why wasn't she coming up here to save him? Surely she knew that he was missing by now!  
  
Paul growled again as Elmer still didn't move before leaning down and hauling the young doctor unceremoniously to his feet. Pushing the loser off the roof wouldn't be nearly as fun as making him do it himself but Paul would still have the pleasure of seeing everyone's reactions the next morning when they found the body. That would have to do.  
  
"No! Paul, let him go!" Paul heard a voice call out and turned just as Mary came onto the roof with that anteater and the blind geek's dog.  
  
"Keep out of my way, twerp," Paul growled as he released his hold on Elmer momentarily. Elmer swayed forward, his weight falling onto the fence, causing it to dip outwards dangerously.  
  
"He's going to fall! Leave him alone!" Mary yelled at Paul before starting towards Elmer. "Elmer, it's okay. Just stay very still and we'll take you right back to the sleep lab and Dr. Lona. I'm sure she's very worried about you. Don't move, okay?"  
  
A little girl? Elmer's numbed brain vaguely grasped the fact that he was hearing a little girl talking to him. Now what was a little girl doing up on the roof? Shouldn't she be somewhere in bed at this hour?  
  
Paul growled as Mary came closer, reaching out a hand to take Elmer's and lead him to safety. No, way! The brat messed up everything for him, saving those that he tried to hurt. He wasn't going to let her save this loser too, not when his death would wreck so much havoc! Before Mary could get any closer, Paul lunged forward, shoving Elmer against the fence, causing it to give way completely as he tumbled over.  
  
"Elmer!" Mary shrieked as she darted forward. "It wasn't his time! How could you!"  
  
"It's what I do, twerp. Be seeing you," Paul said with a smirk as he vanished. He couldn't wait for the real fun to get started in the morning.  
  
"Oh, Elmer, I'm so, so sorry." Mary whispered as she fell to her knees next to the broken fence, tears running down her pale cheeks as she started to sob, a light green mist appearing with each sob. "I'm so sorry." 


	7. chapter 7

As Mary sobbed, she suddenly heard another sob, almost like an echo of her own. She quieted abrubtly as she stood, tilting her head slightly for a moment to figure out where the crying was coming from. "Elmer?" She whispered as she peered anxiously over the ledge. Okay, they were twelve stories up but maybe he had landed in a tree or a bush or something and was okay? "Elmer?" She called for him again as she tried to see through the inky blackness of the night.  
  
"Help?" Elmer whimpered when he suddenly heard a voice calling his name. The little girl, it was that little girl he had heard right before... He shuddered, feeling the material of the hospital gown starting to tear slightly. Tears started to run down his cheeks as he felt it giving way strand by strand. He was going to fall, he was going to fall and....  
  
"Antubis, help!" Mary cried as she turned towards her friend for a moment before scooting out onto the ledge to try to see how in the world they could get Elmer back up safely. When Paul had broke the fencing, it had swung outwards and it looked like somehow Elmer was stuck somehow on the end of the broken fencing but how....  
  
'Looks like the hospital gown got caught,' Antubis said as he put his paws on the ledge, trying to see exactly what the situation was. He shook his head slowly, hoping that Mary didn't notice. He could see that the material of the gown was fraying and that was the only thing currently standing between Elmer and a twelve story plunge to his death.  
  
"Help him!" Mary demanded as she tried to slip closer to Elmer.  
"Elmer, it's going to be okay. We'll get you out of this, okay? Can you try to grab hold of the wires for me?"  
  
'Mary, don't go out there. You could make it break even further'  
Antubis ordered the child as he leaned over the ledge himself, stretching to try to reach Elmer. The hospital gown was up over his head now but just out of the reach of the anteater's claws.  
  
Elmer knew he should try to be brave, should try to be strong but he couldn't help it as she started to sob uncontrolably. He was going to fall off the roof and die and he would never see Lona or his father again and.... He shuddered a bit as he thought of his father, of what he had gone through when Edgar died. Despite their problems, Elmer would never want to put his dad through something like that again and now his father was going to be forced to go to the morgue to identify another body, plan another funeral.... He bit his lip trying to keep from screaming.  
"Please, please, please."  
  
"It's okay, Elmer. We'll get you off of there. Just try to grab hold of something, okay?" Mary said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone before turning to Blondi. "Go and get someone! Get Dr. Lona or Dr.  
Hook or one of the nice doctors!"  
  
"What am I, Lassie?" Blondi said with a shake of his head, coming over to peer over the ledge for a moment himself before he started to trot for the door leading back to the Sunshine Ward and the main area of the hospital. He wasn't really sure what good it would do though. With the cheap material that those hospital gowns were made out of, it would give way long before he could find someone to haul Elmer up to safety.  
  
"It's okay, Elmer." Mary told him as the dog vanished through the door. "Blondi went to go and get help. You're going to be fine. Just try to find something to hold onto, okay?"  
  
"I'm going to fall." Elmer whispered. He could feel his heart pounding as blood rushed through his almost frozen veins. Okay, he wasn't really sure which of three things would actually be the one to kill him,  
the fall, the cold or possibly a heart attack. None of the options looked too good, though, His fingers frantically scrambled against the material over his head, seeking some sort of hold. He could feel the wires if he could just wrap his numbed fingers around them. "Please, help me."  
  
'Just a little more. You've almost got it,' Antubis said quietly,  
allowing himself a slight smile as he saw Elmer's fingers finally come into contact with the fence wiring and gain a hold this time. Okay, he seriously doubted Elmer could actually hold on for any significent length of time but maybe he could keep a grip long enough for them to figure out how to get him back up. The large anteater didn't dare try to lean down and snag him. His weight would either break the fencing further and make him fall for sure or his claws would tear through both the gown and Elmer,  
also making him fall.  
  
Antubis leaned a bit closer, trying to see if there might be something that he was missing, only to start chuckling a moment later.  
'Hey, I see London, I see France, I see someone forgot their underpants!' 


	8. chapter 8

Lona looked anxiously at her watch as she followed Hook down the corridor. It had been almost an hour now. Where in the world was Elmer?  
The feeling that he was in some sort of terrible danger was almost overpowering now and it was all that she could do to keep control and not run through the hospital corridors frantically screaming his name.  
  
She felt tears starting to sting at her eyes. Okay, Elmer drove her nuts sometimes, well, almost all the time but he could do something so sweet when she least expected it like that dinner in the morgue. She had never told him that that had really meant something to her and now.... No,  
she suddenly stopped when she realized what she was doing, thinking about Elmer like he was already dead. He couldn't be dead! "No!" she sobbed under her breath. He had to be okay!  
  
Suddenly all of them looked up when the elevator door opened and they saw Blondi standing there. As soon as the dog spotted them, he started to bark like he wanted them to follow him.  
  
"Blondi, what's going on?" Hook said softly as he approached the dog, motioning for him to quiet down before he woke up the entire floor.  
  
'Well, besides the fact that Elmer just fell off the roof, not much.' The dog stood on his hind paws, batting at the elevator buttons until he hit the one for the 12th floor and the doors silently slipped shut. 'Might want to see about ordering a big spatula. You're going to need it probably to scrape him up off the pavement.'  
  
"Oh, no." Lona whispered as soon as the elevator stopped and she saw where they were. She stepped off in a daze and headed for the door leading to the roof. "No, no, no." She shook her head slowly, mind going back to that terrible night when Elmer's brother had died after leaping from the hospital roof. Louis had tried to hard to remain in control when he had gotten the news, hadn't broken down when he had to go to the morgue to identify his son's broken body. Everyone could tell that something inside of him had broken that night though and had never healed quite right.  
If something happened to Elmer.... Lona could dimly recall now that he had been there that night as well, silently following his father into the morgue and standing there with tears running down his face at the sight of his brother's body. Did Louis realize that, that Elmer had saw? Lona hadn't remembered it until now so....  
  
"Oh, my..." Chris gasped, a hand going to her mouth when she caught sight of the broken fencing. "Hook?"  
  
"No," Lona whispered as she snapped back from her memories. She stared in horror at the broken fence before starting to walk forward slowly, something inside her breaking slowly with each step. She suddenly felt herself slipping to her knees as tears started to pour from her eyes.  
"No! Elmer!" She had been letting herself focus on how Louis would take it if anything happened to Elmer but on seeing that fence broken in, her reaction to losing Elmer suddenly hit her full force. "No," She she whispered softly. "Plase, no." Maybe he was alright, maybe he landed in tree or a bush or something? Please let him have.... Okay, she knew rationally that with a twelve story fall nothing would have been able to save Elmer but she still frantically clung to a tiny bit of hope. If he was dead....  
  
"Hook?" Chris knelt by Lona, wrapping her arms around her sobbing friend and holding her close. She started to rock Lona slowly, gently rubbing her back to try and soothe her. Who would have expected her to take something happening to Elmer this badly?  
  
"I'll go and look." Hook said softly as he headed from the broken section of fencing. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to have to see Elmer's shattered body on the pavement below but better for him to be the one than for Lona to have to see or Louis. He shook his head slowly at the thought of the young man. Okay, Elmer could be rather silly at times but there was something about the younger doctor, something that Hook had to admit that he found indearing and now the thought of looking down and seeing what remained of him splattered on the sidewalk....  
  
"It's okay, Elmer," Mary said softly as she and Antubis started to move away as Hook approached. "Dr. Hook and Dr. Lona and Dr. Chris are here now. They'll get you off of there. Just hold on a few more minutes,  
okay? You'll be fine."  
  
"Elmer?" Hook called as he approached the broken fence. He knew it would do no good to call, knew that Elmer was beyond hearing but the action was automatic.  
  
"Hook?" Hook's eyes widened when he suddenly heard a very familiar, very panic-stricken voice calling his name. "Help!"  
  
"Elmer?" Hook raced the rest of the way to the ledge and peered down anxiously, relief washing over him when he spotted Elmer dangling there, his fingers somehow gripping the wires of the section of broken fencing, the hospital gown he was in caught up around his neck and head and tangled in the fence. He turned to Chris and Lona waving for them to get over there. "He's alive!" 


	9. chapter 9

Elmer was.... Lona shook her head, sure that she wasn't hearing Hook right and at the same time, playing despritely that he would be right,  
that they would have received a miracle. Somehow, she pulled herself to her feet, swaying badly but upright as she rushed to join Hook at the ledge with Chris right at her side. "Elmer?" She called as she dropped to her knees once more, looking anxiously down. Yes! there he was, holding onto the broken fencing! YES!!  
  
"Lona?" Now that he knew his friends were there, more fears were building in Elmer's mind. What if they thought that he had lost it like his brother and had tried to jump? What if they called his father and had him locked away in a nice little padded room forever and ever for his own good? He could feel himself starting to sob more at the thought. He was going to get locked away and everyone would feel very sorry for his dad because he had two sons that went crazy and he would be alone forever and ever and....  
  
"Elmer, it's okay!" Lona called as she watched him anxiously,  
feeling herself starting to tear up again ash she saw him start to hyperventilate. He must be so scared just hanging there, especially after what happened with his brother. "Honey, it's going to be okay. You just hold on tight for me for a few more minutes and we'll get you back up here,  
okay?" She looked anxiously at Hook for a moment. "We have to get him off of there."  
  
Hook peered down at Elmer's position, trying frantically to work out a way that they could pull the younger doctor up. The fencing was hanging so precariously off the side of the wall, though, he wasn't sure what they could do that wouldn't result in it giving the rest of the way and sending Elmer tumbling to his death.  
  
Lona shook her head slowly when Hook didn't offer any suggestions.  
No, no, no! She wasn't going to just stand there and watch while Elmer died, not as long as there was something that she could do to save him.  
"Get some rope or sheets or something!" she ordered as she looked down once more. He looked so frightened and she could tell he was crying.  
"I'll go down and get him so you can pull him up."  
  
"Lona," Hook hissed , not wanting Elmer to hear. "You can't do that! Both of you could...."  
  
"He's going to fall unless someone does something! Just hurry!"  
She demanded as she looked down at Elmer once more, reaching out her hand as far as she could in the hope that it might comfort Elmer a bit. "Elmer,  
it's going to be okay. We'll have you off of there in just a couple of minutes and back down in the sleep lab tucked into bed."  
  
"I think I should be the one to go," Hook said a coulpe of minutes later as he watched Lona secure the end of one of the ripped sheets around her waist as best she could. He didn't want to have to see anything happen to Elmer either but this just didn't seem like the best plan in the world.  
  
"Hook, Chris and I couldn't pull you up," Lona said as she looked down once more before swinging her legs over the ledge and starting to inch down, holding on to the top as best she could, careful not to put her weight on the broken section. And, although she wouldn't say it, she would never allow Hook to jeopardise himself, not when he and Chris were so obviously in love. If she fell, then what would it really matter?  
  
"Elmer, she called as she inched closer to him. The makeshift rope was holding so far, anyway, If it could just hold together for a bit longer, long enough for her to get to him and get him back up to the safety of the roof.... "Sweetie, you're going to be fine. Do you think you can reach out and give me your hand so Hook can pull you back up?"  
  
"Lona?" Elmer forced his eyes open, not able to believe what he was seeing, Lona inching her way down towards him, with only a ripped up sheet to keep her from falling. "Lona, no! Go back before you fall too!"  
Bad enough that he was about to die but he didn't want to take Lona with him. He would never want her to be hurt due to him.  
  
"Elmer, I'm not leaving you here, okay?" she risked reaching out and grabbing the fencing, easing her weight onto it a bit. Elmer was so freaked that she knew she was going to have to get much closer to get him calmed down enough to get him back up. "Now, just give me your hand, okay?  
We'll have you out of here in no time if you can do that."  
  
"Lona?" Elmer's eyes were drawn downward and he cringed, the tears starting to fall harder. He didn't want to react like this, to let Lona see how frightened he was, but he couldn't help it.  
  
"Elmer, just give me your hand, okay? You trust me, don't you?"  
Lona whispered as she reached out for him. He was still just out of her grasp, though. He was going to have to try himself if he wanted her to be able to get to him in time.  
  
Trust Lona? There wasn't anyone Elmer would trust more but....  
  
"Elmer, if you trust me, just reach for my hand, okay? I swear I'm not going to let you fall." She told him, her voice taking on a more urgent tone as the fencing begin to creak. "Elmer, please!"  
  
He forced himself to release his grip on the fencing slightly,  
biting back a sob when he heard the gown material ripping more. His fingers reached out into nothingness for a moment before suddenly coming into contact with Lona's smaller hand.  
  
Lona wasn't really sure what she would do when she got hold of Elmer's hand but as soon as she felt his fingers in her grasp she found herself pulling with a strength that she never suspected that she had,  
drawing him up and into her embrace just as the fencing gave way totally and went crashing towards the ground. "Hook, get us out of here!" she called as she wrapped her arms around Elmer, holding him firmly against her body as she heard Hook and Chris straining on the other end of the makeshift rope, trying to pull them up. "It's okay, Elmer. You're going to be just fine." 


	10. chapter 10

Chris allowed herself a sigh of relief as Elmer and Lona finally appeared at the ledge of the roof. It felt like it had taken forever to pull them up the short distance to safety and she had feared several times that the makeshift rope was going to give way on them before Lona and Elmer were safe.  
  
"Here," Hook reached out a hand, tugging Elmer and Lona over the ledge and onto the roof, his arms burning with the slight strain. As soon as they were on stable ground once more, he dropped to his knees next to them. Lona looked okay but Elmer.... His eyes had a rather alarming glazed look and he didn't seem to be focusing on them properly. "Elmer?"  
He called the younger doctor's name watching carefully for a response. How long had Elmer been up here before they found him and what had caused him to fall off the roof? He reached out, touching Elmer as gently as he could, feeling for any obvious injuries to his head.  
  
"Elmer, it's okay. It's just Hook. Just let him check you, okay?" Lona murmured in a reassuring tone as Elmer flinched at the touch. Okay, something definately wasn't right with that. Lona reached out, adjusting the hospital gown slightly. The back was almost ripped out and gapped open even more than normal.  
  
"I'll get some blankets," Chris said as she started towards the door. "Hook do you want me to call anyone?"  
  
Before Hook could respond, Lona spoke, looking up from Elmer for a moment to her friend. "No, don't call anyone up here whatever you do!" Okay, she knew that Elmer hadn't tried to hurt himself and she was sure that Chris and Hook knew that this was simply an accident but if anyone else found out, she was sure that there would be those who would jump to the conclusion that Elmer had attempted suicide like his brother. She wasn't about to put him through being the subject of vicious gossip like that if she could avoid it at all.  
  
Hook wasn't all together sure that they didn't need extra help up there but he was willing to go along with Lona's decision for the moment, understanding the reasoning behind it. He reached out to try to check Elmer again, stopping when he cringed once more. "Lona, he's okay for you.  
Can you tell if he's hurt anywhere?"  
  
"It's okay, Elmer. It's okay," Lona whispered as she cuddled him against her like one would hold a baby, gently touching his head and neck, feeling for any injuries. A moment later, she sighed in relief when she didn't find anything. A head injury was the last thing that Elmer needed considering his current frightened condition. She wouldn't even want to try getting him into the MRI scanner right now.  
  
"Is he okay?" Chris asked anxiously as she came back carrying a pile of blankets. Okay, Elmer was a bit odd to begin with but she could definately tell that there was something even odder going on with him than usual. His eyes just looked so funny. Chris felt a shiver run through her as the wind started up again, whipping the cold air around her. Wait a minute. She was shivering and Hook and Lona were too. Why wasn't Elmer?  
  
"We need to get him inside and warmed up." Hook said quietly to Lona. He had noticed the lack of shivering on Elmer's part as well, not a good sign. How long had he been out here?  
  
"I know," Lona murmured as she continued to hold Elmer tightly against her as she drapped the blankets around him as best she could with one hand. He was almost like a block of ice and yet his heart was pounding rapidly, so hard that Lona silently worried that it might explode at any moment. "Elmer?" She called his name, trying to get his attention.  
  
"I didn't try to hurt myself." Elmer's voice was anxious as he looked at Lona and then over at Chris and Hook as well. "Please don't call my dad. I didn't try to hurt myself and he'll think I did and lock me up and everyone will feel really sorry for him because both of his sons went nuts and I'm not crazy, I swear I'm not crazy!" His babbling grew more despirate with each word although he knew that in his current state he wasn't really able to do much to convince them that he was perfectly sane.  
  
"Elmer. we know you didn't try to hurt yourself. Let's just get you inside now, okay? Do you think you can walk?" Hook asked in a gentle tone. The last thing they needed now was for Elmer to panic on them.  
  
"It's okay, Elmer. I'm right here. We're all your friends. We're not going to let anything happen to you." Lona hugged him close as between her and Hook they got Elmer to his feet and started to stear him in the direction of the door. They had to get him into a warm bed and rewarmed quickly. 


	11. chapter 11

By the time they reached the hospital basement, Elmer was sagging between Lona and Hook, forcing them to practically carry him the rest of the way to the sleep lab.  
  
"Come on, Elmer. Just a few more steps, okay?" Hook said quietly as he looked at Elmer with growing concern due to his lack of real response to them. He still wasn't shivering and it seemed like he was drawing more and more into himself, deteriorating instead of improving as he should have once off the freezing roof.  
  
Chris moved into the sleep lab ahead of them, getting the covers turned down on one of the beds before hurrying around the room, gathering more blankets. She watched with concern as Hook and Lona entered with Elmer between them, his body practically limp as they lowered him onto the bed and Lona pulled the covers up around him. The more that Chris saw of his condition, the more uncertain she was they shouldn't have taken Elmer right to the emergency room and she could tell that Hook was starting to think the same thing.  
  
"It's okay, Elmer. We're going to get you nice and warm now.  
You're going to be just fine," Lona whispered to him as she took the extra blankets from Chris and started to cover him with them, shaking her head slightly. He was just so, so cold. She leaned closer to him when he didn't react to her voice, seeing that his eyes had slipped closed in the time it had taken them to lay him down. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek as the called his name. "Elmer!" She bit her lip slightly trying to force down fears that she thought had vanished after rescuing Elmer from the roof. If something was wrong with him, if he was hurt or....  
  
"Chris, go and get some heated blankets and an IV setup," Hook said quietly, reaching out to try to check Elmer a bit more. They hadn't seen any visible signs of injury when they got him off the roof and that hospital gown didn't really leave much to the imagination but Hook wanted to be cautious, especially with how Elmer was reacting.  
  
"Elmer, it's okay," Lona whispered as the young man cringed at Hook's touch, his eyes slowly opening. "It's just Hook. He's just trying to help you. Let him take a look at you, okay?" She reached out a hand,  
gently stroking his forehead to try and calm him.  
  
"Lona, he's reacting better to you," Hook said as he looked over at her. "Can you see if you can check him? See if this is just from the cold or if...."  
  
Lona nodded. The cold, it had to be just the cold that was making Elmer act like this but.... "Elmer, sweetie, it's okay. Can you tell me if you're hurting anywhere?" She could barely keep from sobbing when he looked up at her, obvious terror in his eyes.  
  
"I didn't try to hurt myself," Elmer murmured as he looked at Lona. He wanted to plead with her, to beg her to believe that he would never do something like that but it was just so hard to get the words out.  
He was so cold and his heart kept pounding like it would explode at any moment barely letting him breathe.  
  
"We know you didn't, Elmer. We know you didn't." Lona whispered to him, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against his forehead.  
"You're going to be just fine, alright? We're going to take good care of you. Can you tell me if you hurt anywhere, sweetie?" As she talked to him, she eased his hands free of the blankets for a moment, checking for any damage but miraculously there was none.  
  
"Tell my dad I didn't try to...." It felt kind of nice having Lona there touching him so gently and he wanted to enjoy it but he found himself starting to slip back into unconsciousness again. He was just so cold and it was so hard to breathe now. "Wouldn't do it, not after Edgar...."  
"Lona, we might need to get him up to the ER," Hook said softly as he looked at Elmer with concern. He ought to have been showing some sign of improvement once they got him somewhere warm but he just wasn't reacting at all.  
  
"Not yet." Lona didn't want to risk Elmer's life but at the same time she knew exactly what would happen if they took him to the ER and people found out about his near fall from the roof. She could just imagine the rumors and gossip circulating forever and Elmer could just be so sensitive to things like that sometimes. No way would she put him through that if it could be avoided at all. She looked up as Chris came in, her arms full of supplies. Maybe something she had found would help.  
  
"I got some chemical heading packs too," Chris said as she hurried across the room to them. "And I went ahead and warmed a bag of saline."  
She looked down at Elmer with concern as she talked. How in the world had he ended up that cold? He would have had to have been on the roof almost the entire time that he had been missing.  
  
"Okay," Hook nodded as he reached for Elmer's arm. "Elmer, we're just going to get an IV in to try to get you warm, okay?"  
  
"Elmer, it's okay! I promise it's okay!" Lona called as Elmer flinched at the touch, trying to pull his arm out of Hook's grasp. Lona stopped what she was doing, covering Elmer with the heated blankets and reached out for his free hand. She could feel his pulse pounding, the beat starting to become slightly erratic as he tried to pull away from Hook.  
  
"Lona...." Hook knew that they could hold Elmer still and make him cooperate if they had to but with the younger doctor's condition he didn't want to do that unless it was the absolute last resort. They needed to get him upstairs where they could sedate him or....  
  
"No." Lona said as she looked from Hook back to Elmer. No, this could still be handled down here if.... Suddenly something occured to her and she kicked off her shoes before slidding into bed next to Elmer,  
wrapping her arms around him and cuddling him close.  
  
"Okay, Elmer." she whispered in his ear as she gently held him against her. She could feel his heart pounding and had to fight down a new wave of fear, had to remind herself that Elmer was young and healthy. They just needed to get him calm. "I'm right here. I'm going to stay right here with you and take care of you, okay? just let Dr. Hook get that IV hooked up so we can see about getting you warm. You trusted me to get you off the roof. Please trust me now." She spoke the last in a whisper that only Elmer could hear.  
  
Hook signed slightly as Elmer relaxed a bit in Lona's embrace. He waited a moment to make sure he would remain calm before starting to go about getting the IV set up. Maybe they would be able to fix this without having to take Elmer to the ER after all. 


	12. chapter 12

Louis entered the hospital that morning feeling slightly happier than he had in weeks. Ever since Emma's death, he had felt like a dark cloud was following him around but now it seemed that it might have disapated just a little. he headed towards the elevator to get the files needed to do rounds as soon as the usual boring staff meeting was over. He really didn't know why Dr. James insisted on having so many of those things although he was a bit suspicious about the number of them that had been scheduled ever since Stegman's troubles started. He was a bit suspicious that Dr. James' cable television was out and he was using the staff meetings for entertainment instead.  
  
'Speak of the devil and he appears," Louis thought as the elevatorr doors opened and who should be standing there but Stegman. He started to enter the elevator just as Stegman stepped out, causing them to almost jam together for a moment. "Dr. Stegman, good morning."  
  
"Good morning, Dr. Traff." An evil expression flashed over Stegman's face before he forced himself to take on a more normal expression once more. Obviously Louis hadn't heard yet about the little bit of excitement involving his son the night before. And didn't that mean that Hook hadn't been doing his job and contacting the loser's father about his son's little break with reality? This would be the perfect opportunity to get Hook into big trouble, especially since Louis ranked high in the Keepers' organization. "Oh, Dr. Traff," Stegman said, stepping back into the elevator momentarily, keeping the doors from shutting. I just wanted to tell you how deeply, deeply sorry I am about your son."  
  
"What?" Louis looked at Steg in confusion, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Had he had a little lapse from reality?  
  
"You mean Hook didn't call and tell you?" Stegman said in a faked caring tone. "It seems that, what's his name, Elmer, is it? Well, I'm afraid that Elmer tried to kill himself last night. Such a shame. Went up on the roof and well...."  
  
"No." Louis shook his head, trying to block out Stegman's words.  
No, not Elmer too. He wouldn't...  
  
"Very sorry that I had to be the one to break the news to you. I would have thought for sure that Hook would have been the one to call and tell you, what with him being your son's friend and all. Well, I'm sure he has a perfectly reasonable explanation." Stegman said as he exited the elevator once more. "You have my deepest sympathies!" he called as just as the doors slid shut.  
  
Louis slumped back as Stegman vanished from view, tears starting to sting at his eyes. No, not Elmer. He couldn't loose Elmer too, not after.... Why? Why would he.... What had he done wrong? He had been careful, had read everything that he could find on suicide after Edgar died,  
trying to figure out how he could have missed the signs. Now to learn that he had totally missed them a second time as well... "No...." he whispered, shaking his head. He wasn't going to let himself loose his second child. He would do anything, no matter what to save Elmer. He jabbed a finger on the button for the psychiatric floor, his thoughts now turning to Hook. How could he not have called him, not have let him know about something like this? He better have a very good explanation was all that he could say, or Louis would see to it that he was dismissed from Kingdom Hospital perminantly! 


	13. chapter 13

It was almost an hour later when Louis came stalking into the hospital basement searching for the still off shift Hook. He had been shocked to learn that Hook hadn't even bothered to have Elmer placed on the psychiatric ward, hadn't arranged for him to be watched, hadn't even bothered to admit him! Louis had always liked Hook but his rage was almost at the boiling point now. Obviously Hook was totally clueless when it came to things like this if he hadn't....  
  
Suddenly Louis stopped as he passed the sleep lab, going back and peering into the slightly open door. There was Hook, curled on one of the beds with Chris next to him, snoozing like he didn't have a care in the world. Louis pushed the door open and angrily stalked in. How could he be in here sleeping when Elmer.... He had always thought that Hook was his son's friend but obviously he had been wrong.  
  
Hook's eyes opened as he heard footsteps crossing the room towards him. He sat up, careful not to wake Chris, pressing a finger to his lips as he spotted Louis. He reached out, pulling his shoes on as he slowly shook his head. If Louis was already here, then he had definitely slept too long.  
  
As soon as they were back in the monitoring area, Louis exploded.  
"Why didn't you call me last night? Stegman had to give me the news this morning! I thought you were Elmer's friend!"  
  
Hook looked at Louis, trying to figure out what in the world he was talking about. "Louis, what are you...."  
  
Suddenly Louis's eyes widened as he looked through the glass separating the two areas and saw his son laying tucked into another one of the beds, eyes widening even more when he saw Lona there curled up to him,  
snuggling him into a tight embrace. Lona? He had always considered her a friend and a good one but if she was helping Hook with this sub par treatment of his son..... And what in the world was she doing in bed with him?  
  
"Louis, I think you better sit down and tell me what Stegman told you." Hook said in a concerned tone as he noticed that Louis had spotted Elmer and Lona. Okay, he guessed that considering how much Lona complained about Elmer's attentions, it did seem a little strange but considering that Lona was the only one who could calm Elmer the night before, he really wasn't going to say anything about it. All that mattered was that it had worked.  
  
"What is she doing with my son?" Louis demanded, shooting another angry glance at Hook before focusing on the pair in the bed once more.  
What in the world was Lona doing? She didn't like Elmer so....  
  
"She's just holding him. Worked like a charm last night. Kept us from having to sedate him." Hook said with a shake of his head before looking over at Louis once more. "Louis, what in the world did Stegman tell you?"  
  
"He told me what happened with Elmer last night." Louis's voice broke slightly as he spoke now thinking of how he might have lost his only remaining child. How couldn't Hook have called him? "Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you let me know that Elmer tried to kill himself?" he demanded.  
  
"Because I don't believe in calling people at two in the morning to spread lies about my friends?" Hook replied in a halfway joking, halfway serious tone. "Louis, where in the world did you get the idea that Elmer tried to kill himself?"  
  
"Stegman told me what happened, how he tried to jump off the roof like Edgar." Louis shook his head at his lost son's name. No, he wasn't letting that same things claim Elmer as well. He had to save him, no matter what it took. "Why didn't you call me? And why in the world is he down here? He should be up in the psychiatric ward where he can be watched!"  
  
Hook shook his head. Stegman, it figured. He was probably somewhere laughing right now imagining how upset his lie made Louis.  
"Louis," he said in a tone that he hoped would placate the older doctor.  
"You know Stegman and what an ass he is. Why would you believe anything that he said?"  
  
Louis felt a trace of doubt slipping in. Okay, Stegman probably wasn't the best information source but still.... "I talked to them on the psychiatric floor." He informed Hook as he looked at Elmer. No, he couldn't take any chances with his life. He had already lost one son and he wasn't going to lose the other. "They're going to have a room ready for him shortly. I want him moved up there."  
  
"What?" Hook looked at Louis, not really sure what he was hearing but glad that Elmer was safely asleep at the moment. He had been so freaked out at the idea that he might be locked up the night before. If he found out his dad was making reservations for a padded cell for him.  
"Louis, Elmer doesn't need to be up there. He didn't try to kill himself!"  
"What?" Louis looked at Hook as if he didn't understand what he was saying. "Stegman said that he...."  
  
"Louis, Steg's an ass and he's probably getting a big laugh right now knowing he's got you freaked." Hook said with a shake of his head. "I promise you, Elmer didn't try to kill himself. He just had a little sleepwalking episode last night."  
  
"Sleepwalking? But Elmer never...." Louis wanted to believe Hook but there when he thought about what Stegman had told him.  
"Lona was surprised too but he was being monitored right before it happened. He was definitely sleepwalking." Hook said slowly, hoping to calm Louis down before Elmer woke up.  
  
"But the roof, Stegman said that he was on the roof!"  
  
"He somehow wondered up there. Don't even ask me how he did it without someone seeing him. And you know that the door in the Sunshine Ward has a bad habit of sticking. He got stuck out there until we found him."  
  
Louis shook his head slowly. He wanted to believe Hook, really he did but he was so afraid to let himself believe. What if Hook was wrong?  
What if... "Are you sure that he wasn't trying? Sure enough to risk his life?" He said quietly.  
  
Hook nodded. reaching out and placing a comforting hand on Louis's back. When he got his hands on Stegman for doing this..... "Louis,  
there's no way that he was trying. He was half asleep still when we brought him back down here and he kept swearing up and down that he wasn't trying to hurt himself."  
  
"Why didn't you call me?" Okay, Louis was willing to go with Hook's reassurances but the fact he hadn't been notified of what had happened to his son, even if it was an accident, still rankled.  
  
"Louis, it was two in the morning and Elmer was freaked thinking people would think he did try suicide. We were having a devil of a time getting him calmed down enough to get him rewarmed. Frankly, the only person that had any sort of luck getting through to him was Lona. There wouldn't have been anything you could have done." And although Hook didn't speak this aloud he knew that Louis's presence would have likely made Elmer way worse.  
  
Louis nodded after a moment, still not completely happy with Hook's reasoning but willing to go with it. "He is okay?" He asked quietly.  
  
"He's fine. We got him wrapped up in blankets and ran some warmed saline through an IV to get him warm. The worst part was actually how scared he was but Lona holding him got that fixed." He shook his head slightly as he looked through the glass at the two. Okay, Lona complained about Elmer a lot but she had been right there for him when he needed help.  
Maybe Elmer's chances with her weren't so poor after all. Well, as long as he could think of some better gift ideas, that is. Suddenly Hook recalled Stegman and turned back to Louis with a frown. Steg was a big enough of an ass to delight in spreading the suicide rumor all over the hospital. What could they do to stop him? 


	14. chapter 14

Lona yawned slightly as she opened her eyes, surprise hitting her for a moment when she saw Elmer there, snuggled into her arms. her head pressed against his chest so she could hear the steady beating of his heart. She sat up slightly, softly kissing his forehead before sliding out of the bed. She still felt a bit shaky when she thought of what had happened the night before, of how close Elmer had came to death. An alarm.  
She was going to get an alarm to go on the lab door. Or maybe two alarms?  
Something to make sure that this would never happen again, anyway. Lona gently patted Elmer's shoulder before pulling on her shoes. Surprisingly,  
she was more than a little bit tempted to lay back down with Elmer for a bit. He had drifted off to sleep in her arms the night before, somehow convinced that he really was safe. She shook her head as she thought of how frightened he had been before she had been able to calm him. Okay,  
Elmer could drive her seriously crazy at times but seeing him that scared had affected her. She stopped as she approached the door, honestly wanting to go back to bed but she knew she had to get in touch with Louis to let him know what happened.  
  
As she stepped into the monitoring area, she was surprised to see that Elmer's father was already there, apparently having a serious conversation with Hook. "Louis?" she called as she approached.  
Louis looked at Lona for a moment, not really knowing what to say to her, especially after what he had just seen with Lona in bed with his son. Okay, Hook had said she was doing it to keep Elmer calm but.... An awkward silence hung between the two doctors as Louis tried to think of what to say. Elmer would be furious if he asked if Lona had honorable intentions towards his son. "Hook told me about last night." He finally said. "What happened?"  
  
"I don't really know." Lona shook her head as she glanced at the door before looking through the glass at Elmer still fast asleep. "We were doing the same experiments we've done a million times. I nodded off for a few minutes though and when I woke up, Elmer was gone. I'm definitely getting an alarm for that door." She said firmly. Or maybe two alarms to be doubly secure.  
  
"Elmer's never sleepwalked before." Louis said. "Is there something with the experiments that could have....." If Lona's sleep experiments triggered whatever had happened to Elmer, Louis was definitely vetoing using his son any further as a test subject.  
  
"I don't see how," Lona said with a shake of her head. "I was just monitoring him with the EEG. There's nothing about that that could have triggered sleepwalking. The only thing I can think of maybe is some sort of bad dream. We might find out more when he wakes up. If he remembers, that is. He was really shaky last night." Lona didn't speak this aloud but deep down she hoped that Elmer didn't remember the happenings of the night before, not after how much they had frightened him.  
No way did she want to see him go through that again.  
  
"You're sure he's alright?" Louis demanded as he looked through the glass at his son. Elmer seemed alright from here but appearances could be deceiving.  
  
"He'll probably have some good bruises this morning but nothing worse." Hook shook his head slightly, barely believing how luck Elmer had been. "The problem we need to look at though, is what in the world to do about Steg. You know he's going to delight in spreading that rumor all over the hospital."  
  
"Steg? What sort of rumor is he...." Lona stopped as it suddenly occurred to her exactly what Steg might be saying. No, how could anyone,  
even Steg, be that cruel?  
  
"He met me at the elevator this morning and told me Elmer tried to kill himself by jumping off the roof last night." Louis said with a shake of his head. He really should have known better to put any faith in what Steg had to say but the other doctor had managed to skillfully hit the buttons that would send him straight into a panic.  
  
"He what? No, Elmer wouldn't do that!" Lona said in an insistent tone, watching Elmer for any signs that he might be starting to wake. She definitely didn't want him to hear any of this. He had been so badly panicked when they had found him, thinking people would think he tried to commit suicide. If he heard what Steg was saying..... Suddenly Lona thought of something and stood still, slowly working it over in her mind.  
"Lona?" Louis called her name, drawing her back to the reality of the sleep lab once more.  
  
"How did Steg know Elmer was on the roof?" Lona said slowly. "We brought Elmer down here to get him rewarmed because we knew what conclusions people might jump to. How did Steg find out? I know that no one saw us. Hook, was his car in the parking lot when you checked it?"  
  
"I don't think so." Hook said slowly. Steg's Jag was pretty distinctive now due to the various vandalizations that it had suffered.  
  
"So he was gone before we found Elmer. Which means the only time that he could have seen him is if he ran into Elmer while he was sleepwalking. And if that's what happened, then why didn't Stegman raise a finger to help him?" Lona felt rage building now, remembering how frightened and cold Elmer had been when they found him. If Stegman had seen him on the way to the roof, then he could have easily prevented all of that, could have spared Elmer that terror if he was even a tiny bit of a human being. "Why didn't he do anything to help?" She repeated. 


	15. chapter 15

"You're sure that Stegman wasn't here after you found Elmer?"  
Louis demanded as he looked at Hook and Lona, feeling his rage starting to build now against the idiot doctor. If he had been there, had seen his son in need of help and hadn't lifted a finger.... Charges, he would have Stegman up on charges so fast that....  
  
"Louis, don't do anything rash, okay?" Hook said as he watched the older doctor with concern. Oh, Stegman had made a serious mistake this time. Everyone knew how badly Louis had taken his older son's death and for Stegman to cook up a lie like that, to bring all of the old hurts back.... Hook could kill Steg himself for doing something so deliberately cruel. He knew Steg was bad but this was beyond bad.  
  
"He won't have to because I'm going to kill him when I get my hands on him!" Lona's voice was quiet but deadly serious. She walked over to the monitors a bit unsteadily and looked through the glass at the still sleeping Elmer. How could Stegman have.... She felt tears starting to sting her eyes as she thought of how frightened Elmer had been when they found him, how he kept trying so desperately to convince them that he hadn't tried to hurt himself. Now for Stegman to be spreading rumors that he had actually tried suicide. Poor Elmer would be haunted by something like that for his entire medical career if he stayed at Kingdom Hospital.  
"Stegman probably took him up to the roof." Lona hissed as she wiped at her eyes, trying to force the tears back. "He probably took him up there and left him just to see how freaked he would be when he woke up."  
  
"If I find out that he did that to my son...." Louis laid a hand on Lona's shoulder now turning from the one who needed more than a bit of calming to the calmer. "Lona...."  
  
"He was just so scared. Scared and cold." Lona whispered. "How could Stegman just.... He was so scared."  
  
"What's going on?" Chris called as she came in, hopping slightly as she pulled her shoes on. She stopped when she saw the upset expressions on everyone's face and noticed that Louis was there. "What happened?" Had Louis found out about last night and jumped to the wrong conclusion or something?  
  
"Stegman." Hook said in a clipped tone. "Somehow he found out that Elmer was on the roof last night and he decided to amuse himself telling Louis that Elmer had tried to kill himself this morning. And you know that he won't stop with just one person. He's probably got this spread all over the hospital by now." And, although Hook wouldn't say it and make Louis feel any worse, his making arrangements for Elmer to be admitted to the psychiatric ward definitely wouldn't help the matter. The nurses up there were some of the biggest gossips in the hospital.  
"How could Stegman have found out, though?" Chris said slowly.  
"No one saw us when we brought Elmer down here and..... Oh, no! He didn't!"  
  
"Only way he could have found out, isn't it?" Lona said with a shake of her head as she suddenly made a decision. Elmer didn't need to be here, didn't need to hear people gossiping and whispering about him right now. "I'm going to get Elmer out of here until you can get this straightened out." And with how she was feeling at the moment, recalling how frightened Elmer had been and how scared she had been as well the night before, she didn't think it was a good idea for her to be here either. She would probably kill Stegman if she saw him.  
  
"That's probably a good plan." Hook said slowly just as his pager started to beep. He pulled it out and frowned when he saw the number. Dr.  
James. Had they slept through a meeting or something? He reached out and picked up the phone, punching the number in.  
  
"Ahhhh, Dr. Hook. Lovely morning, isn't it?" Dr. James said as he picked up the phone.  
  
"Ummmm, yeah." He hadn't seen outside but he supposed it might be a nice morning. "What did you need?" Had they missed a meeting? He could have sworn that there wasn't one scheduled for today but with the excitement of the night before, he definitely could have had one slip his mind.  
  
"I'm calling about the unfortunately incident with Dr. Traff's son.  
Such a sad thing to have happen, and to both of his sons too." Dr. James said as he shook his head. "Although I do appreciate your discretion in trying to keep the matter quiet. We can't have people thinking that the doctors at Kingdom Hospital aren't mentally competent after all. I do think it's in the best interests of everyone if we arrange to move him to a more secure place where there will be no more little incidents. Someone will be right down to collect him. Oh, and do give Louis my sympathies when you see him. Such a tragedy for him."  
  
Hook dropped the phone back into place, shock clearly on his face.  
"Steg told Dr. James his version of what happened last night. James has someone on the way down here to get Elmer now."  
  
"What? Does he think that I'm just going to let him lock my son up when...." Okay, Louis had been considering doing the same thing just a short time before but that was totally different. He had been overcome with fear for his son and.... When he got his hands on Stegman for doing this to Elmer....  
  
"Lona, get him up and get him out of here now," Hook ordered.  
"We'll let Dr. James know what really happened but Elmer doesn't need to be here and hear all of it now."  
  
"Fine. Just when you see Stegman, hit him for me," Lona muttered as she hurried into the sleep lab and sat down on the bed beside Elmer,  
reaching out and shaking his shoulder gently. "Elmer? Sweetie, it's time to wake up now." His clothes. Would they have time to get him dressed or.... No, they would have to handle that later.  
  
"Lona?" Elmer blinked, slowly waking at the sound of her voice, a bit puzzled by her tone. Something was different about it, not how Lona usually sounded when waking him after a night session with her sleep experiments, not like she wanted to rush him right out the door.  
  
"Come on, Elmer. Let's get you up now. We're going out for breakfast." Lona told him as she motioned for him to sit up quickly. She reached out, tugging one of the blankets free and wrapping it around his shoulders. That would have to do for now.  
  
"Going out for breakfast?" Elmer said slowly, still a bit confused. "Don't we have to work today?"  
  
"You're taking the day off." Louis said as he came in and hauled Elmer to his feet, making sure the blanket was wrapped securely around him.  
"Go on now, have fun."  
  
"Wait. Don't I need to get dressed or..." Something very odd was going on here. Elmer could definitely tell that. His father and Lona were practically dragging him out the door of the sleep lab.  
  
"You can do that later." Lona said firmly as she gripped his arm and hurried Elmer down the hall, away from the elevators.  
  
"Lona, aren't we going the wrong way? The way to the parking lot is back there." Elmer said in a puzzled tone, still trying to figure out what in the world was going on.  
  
"We're taking the scenic route today." Lona hoped her voice sounded calm but deep inside she was panicking. She could hear the elevator doors opening somewhere behind them and she pulled Elmer into a side corridor just as she heard heavy footsteps heading for the sleep lab. Now how in the world was she going to get them out of here now?  
  
"This way! Come this way!" Suddenly she heard a voice calling to her from further down the older, dusty, disused corridor. A child? It sounded like a child but what would a child be doing down here? Still,  
Lona found herself following the voice, leading Elmer along beside her.  
This might be their best chance to get out of here without getting caught. 


	16. chapter 16

Hook cringed inwardly as a pair of burly orderlies, definitely not some of theirs, entered the room followed by a shorter, skinnier man with a clipboard, obviously some sort of administrator. Good thing they had gotten Elmer out of there when they did. If he had woke up to that, Hook didn't even want to think about how he would have reacted.  
  
"Excuse me, we're here to pick up an Elmer Traff for a 72 hour hold." The smaller man, obviously in charge, stepped forward.  
Hook shook his head as he looked at them. Honestly, where in the world had Jesse found these people? They looked and acted a bit like something out of an old mobster movie. "Want to bet that his cable is out again? He's probably going to come through passing out scripts next."  
Hook whispered under his breath to Chris. They had to stall these guys long enough for Lona to get Elmer safely far away from the hospital and then they could deal with getting this entire situation straightened out.  
  
"Well, I'm afraid you've made a mistake!" Louis glared at the three men barely able to suppress his anger enough to speak. After the shock that Stegman had given him, all he had wanted to do was to be with his son, to check and make sure that he was really alright and now because of them he had had to send Elmer away without even being able to talk to him, to let him know... "Nothing is wrong with my son and the last place he needs to be is in some sort of mental institution!"  
  
The smaller man looked at Louis in pity. Honestly, why was it that the families were always in such deep denial even when their relation was obviously bonkers. "Well, according to the paperwork that I have there was an attempt at suicide last night, from a jump from the roof, I believe?"  
the man said slowly as if Louis was an idiot who couldn't comprehend a few simple facts. "That does call for a 72 hour hold for observation. You wouldn't want him to try anything again, now would you? They often do, you know."  
  
"Chris, go and get Jesse, let him know what really happened here and tell him to do whatever to get these goons called off." Hook whispered to her before heading to join Louis. The man was pushing all of the wrong buttons with Louis and he could tell that the older doctor was about to explode. Honestly, even if he did think Elmer had tried to hurt himself,  
there was no way that he would entrust his friend to people like this.  
  
"Calm down." Hook hissed into Louis's ear as he saw Chris scurry around the two larger men and out the door. "Hippocratic Oath, remember?"  
  
"I'm not a doctor right now, I'm a father and he isn't getting away with talking about my son like that!" Louis hissed right back, glaring at the man as he stepped forward. What the man was saying, implying that he was clueless about the facts concerning suicide.... And implying that he wouldn't do what was best for Elmer if he actually had tried.... He had lost one son to it already. How could.... And this man obviously had no sympathy for the mentally ill and had already marked Elmer off as totally insane without even seeing him. There was nothing wrong with his son and he wasn't about to let anyone treat him like there was! He started to reach out, to grab the man's collar and force him out of the room. The emotions from what he had gone through that morning were practically overwhelming him now. To think that he might have missed something with Elmer, that he was such a bad father that he couldn't see that his only remaining child was in trouble as well....  
  
"Listen, let's all calm down here, okay?" Hook said as he stepped in between the two men before Louis could do anything that he might regret later. He shook his head slightly at the older man's reaction. 'And here you think your dad doesn't care about you, Elmer.' he thought before speaking again. "I know what the paperwork that you have there says but I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding. Elmer certainly didn't try to commit suicide last night. I'm afraid he had a sleepwalking spell. One of our doctors apparently saw him and misunderstood the situation. So, we thank you for your concern but you really aren't needed here. Sorry for any inconvenience."  
  
Sleepwalking? Of all of the nutty excuses to cover up a suicide attempt and it did seem that families and friends tried to cover it up many times, that was one of the nuttiest. "You expect me to believe that he was sleepwalking and just happened to wander onto the roof, the roof where his brother committed suicide, I believe it was in...."  
  
"Believe what you want." Hook motioned frantically for Louis to try to calm down although he was feeling less and less inclined to save this idiot from getting a few teeth knocked out. Bringing up Edgar like that.... "but we have the facts on our side. Elmer was helping in an experiment in the sleep lab when the sleepwalking occurred. Our expert on this, Dr. Massingale, isn't here right now but she's checked the EEG readout and it clearly indicates sleepwalking so you clearly are NOT needed here. I'm fairly sure that sleepwalking isn't something that requires a trip to the mental institution."  
  
Just then the phone rang and Hook automatically picked it up.  
  
"Hook?" Chris said. "Listen, Jesse and I are on our way down. I explained what happened and needless to say, he's very sorry for jumping to conclusions. We have a little problem, though. Someone, and I'm betting Steg or Brenda, saw Elmer leaving with Lona. They called the cops to report an escaped mental patient. A couple of patrol cars just pulled up outside."  
  
Hook shook his head, barely able to keep from laughing although he knew that the situation wasn't really one that called for levity. This was just so, so Elmer's luck. He just hoped his friend was having a nice time with Lona and would never find out about any of this. 


	17. chapter 17

"Lona, I don't know about this," Elmer said as he stood in the disused doorway peering out into the parking lot. Okay, he hadn't been exactly thrilled about running around the hospital in that blasted gown but going out in the parking lot. He pulled the blanket tighter about him as he thought about it. "Can't I please, please put my clothes on now?"  
  
"Elmer, come on. You can get dressed later. No one's going to see you, for goodness sakes!" Lona reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the parking lot and leading him on a weaving course amongst the cars towards her car. She really hated to do this to him but better he be a little embarrassed than for them to get caught and for Elmer to find out what happened last night. She shook her head slowly, grateful that it seemed that Elmer had been spared remembering what had happened. She just wished that she could forget it. She had been so frightened for him.  
  
"Hey, Lona?" Elmer said as he looked back. "Did you see that van from Stone Brook Institute? That's that mental institute almost of the border, isn't it? Wonder what that's doing here? Did someone finally find out about the little accidents people keep having on the psych ward?"  
  
"Maybe?" Lona said in what she wasn't really sure was a convincing tone as she unlocked her car doors and motioned for Elmer to get in. She looked back towards the van as she started the car and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. Good, No one seemed to have spotted them and it was early enough that the area homeless weren't gathered yet to serve as potential witnesses. She shook her head as she spotted Steg's car.  
honestly, is she didn't need to hurry and get Elmer out of there, she would have gone over and done something to add to the vandalization.  
  
"Ummmm, Lona, are you sure that it's really okay for both of us to leave like this? Don't we have a staff meeting in just a...." Elmer glanced at the clock on the dash. "Well, a meeting that started five minutes ago?"  
  
"I'm sure Jesse won't care if we miss it, Elmer. He's got other things on his mind this morning." 'Hopefully things that involved getting this mess with the mental home and arranging to have you committed straightened up.' she continued in her head. "Now, I was thinking that we could go to my place so that you can get dressed and we can have breakfast.  
Does that sound good to you?"  
  
Lona was actually planning to let him into her house? Elmer's eyes widened as his pinched his arm frantically. No, no change. He was still in Lona's car in nothing but a hospital gown and a blanket with her looking at him in anticipation of a reply. "Ummmm...." Oh, great. Here he had Lona finally paying some attention to him and he couldn't even manage to speak. He finally nodded his head in reply before burying his face in his hands, reddening with embarrassment. Oh, this was just going perfectly.  
She was going to think he was definitely a bigger loser than she did before after this if such a thing were possible.  
  
"Elmer, it's okay. Everything's going to be fine, okay?" Lona said as she reached out and gently patted his hand, smiling slightly when she saw him reddening even more at the touch. Okay, Elmer could drive her nuts but she had to admit that he was more than a tad cute. She shook her head at the though, not believing that she had just had it.  
  
They spent the rest of the ride in silence, neither of them really sure of what to say. "Okay," Lona finally spoke as she opened her front door and led Elmer inside. "The bedroom's back that way. Why don't you just go and change and I'll see what I can find for us for breakfast."  
  
Breakfast? Lona was going to actually let him stay in her house long enough to feed him. Now Elmer knew that there was definitely something off about this situation. "Ummmm, Lona, am I dying or something and they forgot to tell me?"  
  
"No, Elmer." Lona rolled her eyes at him, reaching out and patting his shoulder as she did so. "Can't I just invite a friend for breakfast?"  
Friend? Okay, that definitely wasn't how he wanted Lona to think of him but at least friend was a step up from coworker and lab guinea pig.  
He supposed he better go with it for them moment. He nodded at Lona and headed down the hallway to the bedroom with his clothes.  
"Lona?" Elmer called a few minutes later as he finally finished dressing and stepped out of the bedroom.  
  
"Down here." She called, frustration sounding in her voice.  
  
"Ummmmm, could I ask what's wrong?" Elmer said as he entered the kitchen. It looked like she had practically emptied the refrigerator and had the contents arranged all over the counters. "You know, I don't think I'm really that hungry."  
  
"Well, that's good because I just remembered that I haven't been grocery shopping in almost two weeks." Lona said with a shake of her head as she glared around at the food. "I think I have a jar of peanut butter,  
some cheese and a few eggs that might not be petrified."  
  
"World's oddest omelet, maybe?" Elmer said with a grin.  
  
"Maybe, but don't tell your father for goodness sakes," Lona grinned herself starting to laugh slightly at the situation. looks like if she and Elmer were going to be on the run from the mental institution for a bit they would have to do it somewhere besides her house. "Why don't you start getting all of this stuff in the trash can while I see if I can try out that omelet idea." 


	18. chapter 18

Hook hung up the phone, turning to Louis, barely about to suppress laughter as he thought over the situation. Only Elmer, this could only happen to Elmer. He just hoped that his friend would be able to see the humor as well if he ever found out about this mess.  
  
Tell me that Jesse is on his way to straighten this blasted mess out!" Louis hissed to Hook. His anger was definitely at the boiling point and was somehow in creasing with every moment that these idiots were here.  
How could anyone possibly think that Elmer was insane? He felt himself moving forward, reaching out to snag the man and throw him out. He didn't need Jesse to handle this situation. He could do it perfectly well himself and if anyone else tried to say anything about his son....  
  
"Louis, do you want Elmer to have to bail you out of jail?" Hook hissed as he grabbed at his colleague and pulled him back before he could actually lay a finger on the smaller man.  
  
Just then the door opened once more as Chris and Jesse came hurrying in. Jesse stopped for a moment, surveying the situation. He had had to do some fast talking to arrange for Elmer to be picked up so quickly and it really was quite embarrassing to have to come in now and say that it was all a mistake. Made him look like more than a bit of an idiot. One look at the expression on Louis's face, though, convinced him that looking like an idiot was a much better option than facing a very angry father.  
  
"Gentlemen, I'm sorry but I'm afraid there's been a terrible misunderstanding here." He said with a smile as he stepped over to the smaller man, holding out his hand to shake. "You would be Dr. Milbury right? I've heard good things about you, very good things."  
  
"Yes, well, I would like to know what's going on here," Milbury said as he glared at Jesse. "You called saying that you had a doctor that in your words was "totally whacked' only now these two are insisting that some sort of mistake has been made. I know family is often the last to admit to someone having a mental disorder but..."  
  
"I think I worded it a bit differently than totally whacked," Jesse said in a nervous tone as he looked over at Louis. "I was just concerned for Elmer's safety and of course wanted to help in any way possible. He's such a nice young man."  
  
"According to this you said he's displaying stalker-like characteristics towards one of your other doctor, has no grip on reality as others know it and..."  
  
"They thought I said that?" Jesse said with a nervous laugh as he looked over at Louis once more. He could almost see the word lawsuit forming in his brain. "I've been having some problems with my office phone recently. Cuts in and out at the most inconvenient times. Scrambles what I'm saying dreadfully. I really must have Johnny B. Good take a look at that soon. Terrible inconvenience."  
  
"Anyway, as I was saying, there has been a small misunderstanding here. One of our doctors, who was understandably concerned about young Elmer's well being, reported his little visit to the roof to me last night.  
Of course, I was very worried as well considering the family history and I thought of your fine facility as the best place to tend to the dear boy and return him to us perfectly well once again quickly. I'm afraid that in my worried state, I made a small error in judgment though and didn't check to find out the facts of the incident. It seems that Elmer had a small sleepwalking spell last night, that our fine doctors took care of quickly and efficiently. I'm very sorry to have called you all this way for nothing."  
  
Just then they heard shouting in the corridor. "What in the..."  
Hook said as he hurried to the door and looked out as what seemed like an endless horde of policemen poured out of the elevator.  
  
"Dr. Hook!" He heard a voice shouting his name and turned in time to see Dr. Gupta racing out of the stairwell.  
  
"What's going on, Sonny?" Hook asked as he waved him into the lab.  
  
"The police just showed up looking for Elmer. What's going on?"  
the young man asked anxiously, concern for his friend in his voice.  
"They're saying that he had a nervous breakdown and killed Lona!" As he spoke, he kept thinking back to the last time that he had seen Elmer. He always knew that Elmer's fixation on Lona was likely a bit unhealthy but for it to lead to murder.... He shook his head sadly. How could Elmer do something like that? Maybe he should have turned him in for the head incident, gotten him the help that he needed before it was too late.  
  
"WHAT?!" Oh, this was too much. Louis reached out and snagged Jesse by his collar. "This is all your fault. You are going to march right down here and tell these police officers that there is nothing wrong with my son and you're going to do it now!"  
  
Chris and Hook looked at each other for a moment before heading after Louis, hoping to calm him down before he made the entire situation even worse. "Come on, Sonny. You can fill us in on what happened upstairs on the way." Hook told the other doctor as he motioned for him to follow them. How in the world did things end up going so crazy? 


	19. chapter 19

"Okay, Elmer," Lona said as she finished the last of the omelet on her plate. It was a bit on the odd side with the peanut better mixed in but she had to admit that it hadn't been half bad. "What do you want to do today?"  
  
"Do?" Elmer looked at Lona with a bit of confusion. Okay, her suddenly inviting him to come home with her was unusual enough but now she was wanting to spend the day with him as well? "Ummm, Lona, don't we kind of have to go to work today?" Okay, maybe Jesse would forgive them for skipping a staff meeting but Elmer was pretty sure that he wasn't going to be thrilled if they blew off work entirely.  
  
"Didn't you hear your father? He said you have the day off." Lona laughed slightly but in a friendly tone, not like the usual mocking laughter that Elmer was more than a little used to.  
  
"Okay, I know my dad's a little high up in that silly Keepers thing, but I really don't think he's allowed to just declare days off."  
Well, Elmer thought he wasn't anyway. If his dad could just give him time off in a snap, why hadn't he done something when Elmer had been so sick with the flu and yet had been forced from his bed to come to work anyway?  
  
"He'll explain the entire thing to Jesse. Don't worry about it,  
Elmer." Lona said with a smile. "So, where do you want to go today?"  
  
"Ummmmmmmm...." Elmer felt his face reddening once more as he couldn't seem to figure out how to speak once again. Oh, this was too, too embarrassing. Of course, there was an up side in that he couldn't declare to Lona that he would be happy to go anywhere or do anything as long as she was at his side. Stuff like that tended to always get him into trouble with her.  
  
"It's okay, Elmer, really." Lona reached out and patted his arm.  
She was actually kind of pleased to see Elmer acting so nervous about being with her. It meant he was back to normal pretty much instead of terrified like he had been the night before. She firmly forced those thoughts away before they could properly surface. Elmer was fine and there was no use dwelling on what might have happened. "I have an idea, okay? I was thinking we could drive over towards Portland, maybe check out the ocean.  
Would you like to do that? No certain plan, just driving along the coast."  
  
Elmer didn't trust himself to speak, was sure that he would say something to totally wreck things if he tried. so he just nodded in response.  
  
"Okay, Elmer. It's okay." Lona reassured him, patting him gently once more. "Let me just go and get my coat and we'll go. Do we need to swing by your place on our way? You might need a coat too. I don't want you to get chilled." Definitely didn't want him to get chilled after how cold he had ended up after so log on the roof.  
  
"I'm fine." Elmer shook his head slowly as he followed Lona down the hallway, stopping momentarily as she opened a closet and pulled a thicker coat out. Why in the world was she acting like this, almost mother henning him? Something weird was definitely going on here.  
  
"Ummmmmm, Lona, could I please ask what's going on here?" He said as he followed her out the door and climbed back into her car once more.  
It wasn't a tiny one like the thing he was stuck with and he could actually stretch out in it, could probably even sleep in it if he wanted.  
  
"Elmer, nothing's going on except that I want to spend the day with a friend. What's so strange about that?" Lona started the car as she talked and pulled out of the driveway, heading for the nearest route to the coast and Portland.  
  
"Well, you have been acting pretty ticked at me for that stupid joke with the head," Elmer said quietly as he looked over at Lona. He was going to mess this up. He always blew everything, after all. Might as well mess things up now and get it over with before he got to enjoying it too much. It would just make it hurt worse when it blew up in his face.  
  
"Elmer, I thought Carrie was going to have a heart attack when she saw that head. And I certainly hope that you returned it to its rightful owner. You have to admit that I had a right to be ticked with you. Where did you get the idea to do that, anyway? Were you reading something on Van Gogh by some chance?" Lona laughed softly as she looked over at him.  
Okay, the head thing really wasn't very funny and was terribly disrespectful of the dead but the expression on Elmer's face as she brought up the incident was just so cute. She shook her head at that. Okay,  
despite how she was almost constantly annoyed with Elmer at times, she did have to admit that he was seriously cute. "Now come on, what would you like to do today? Is the coast okay or would you rather do something else?"  
  
"Coast is fine." Elmer said as he studied Lona. He had brought up the head incident and she hadn't yelled at him. That was definitely more than a bit unusual. Something very, very strange was going on here. "So,  
Lona," he said in what he hoped was a casual tone. "Did that last scan you did show a brain tumor or something?" That had to be it. He had to be dying. It was the only other explanation that he could think of.  
  
"Elmer, you're fine." Lona said as she play whacked him on the arm.  
"Now just settle back and relax, okay? We're going to have a nice time today." 


	20. Chapter 20

"Sonny, tell me exactly what happened," Hook said urgently as they headed down towards the morgue. The morgue? Why in the world were the police heading for the morgue?  
  
"I don't really know," the younger doctor said with a shake of his head. Okay, how Louis and Hook were reacting was starting to reassure him that his friend wasn't in as much trouble as he feared that he was but still... Why in the world would the police be here looking for Elmer if something serious wasn't going on?  
  
"How in the world did they get the idea that my son killed Lona?"  
Louis demanded. Oh, when he got his hands on Stegman, he was going to kill him. I mean, it was bad enough that he made a hobby out of maiming the patients but when he decided to victimize his son as well, then he had gone way too far.  
  
"I'm not really sure." Sonny said with as he looked over at Louis.  
Okay, his reaction was a bit odd. All Sonny had ever heard from Elmer was about how his father didn't care anything for him so why was he acting like this now? Had Elmer made yet another mistake? Elmer making a mistake,  
that wasn't really surprising.  
  
"Sonny?" Hook said, snapping the younger doctor back to the current situation once more.  
  
"Yeah. I just don't know what happened. I had just came in maybe ten, fifteen minutes before the cops showed up." Sonny shook his head once more as he thought about it. When he had seen all of those cops, his first thought had been that they had been there for him and that he must have goofed up something on his work papers. "They started asking all of these questions about Elmer and if anyone had seen him this morning and the next thing that I know, someone's saying that he lost it and killed Lona."  
  
"Elmer didn't kill anyone." Okay, from the look on Louis's face,  
he was planning to kill someone. Not good. "Louis, calm down, okay?  
Remember, Elmer's out having a good time with Lona right now. Do you really want to drag him back to bail you out of jail?" Hook laughed slightly as he spoke trying to defuse the tension of the situation.  
  
"Elmer's out with Lona?" Shock was apparent on Sonny's face as he spoke. What in the world had happened to lead to that? Oh, Elmer was going to be so insufferable when he came back to work if he had actually managed to win Lona after so long. But if Elmer and Lona were together somehow, then how in the world had anyone got the idea that Elmer had killed her? Before he could ask that question, they were at the morgue and all thoughts of a fictional murder flew out of his mind. From the way Louis was looking, it looked like they might be needing to prevent a real one.  
  
"What is going on here?" Louis demanded as he stalked into the morgue. He didn't care that these were police officers. If they were going to try to do something to hurt his son....  
  
"We got a call about an escaped mental patient who might have murdered a doctor," one of the officers pulled out a pad as he spoke. The other officers were busily opening drawers and pulling out corpses for inspection. "A Lona Massingale, I believe?"  
  
"My son didn't kill anyone!" Louis shouted. He knew he should stay calm, should try to explain this rationally but his emotions were still running to high after his fright of only a bit earlier.  
  
"Louis." Hook said quietly, motioning for the older doctor to settle down and let him explain. He grabbed Dr. James and drug him to the front to face the officers. "Listen, I'm really sorry but there's been some sort of terrible mistake here. I can reassure you that there's definitely been no murder here."  
  
"Well, according to what was reported to us, an escaped mental patient, an Elmer Traff...." The officer consulted his notebook once more as he spoke.  
  
"That's the first little error here." Jesse said with a nervous laugh. "It seems that Elmer had a minor sleepwalking spell last night that one of our other doctors misconstrued as an attempt at suicide."  
"What happened?" Sonny demanded as Jesse continued to ramble on,  
trying to make sure that the hospital appeared in the best possible light in the entire mess. "Hook?"  
  
"Elmer was sleepwalking and ended up on the roof last night." Hook said quietly. He just hoped that Jesse could get this blasted mess worked out quickly. "Somehow Stegman found out about it and he started this story about Elmer trying to commit suicide."  
  
Sonny's eyes widened. Elmer's brother had been way before his time but everyone in the hospital had heard the stories about what had happened to him. "You're sure that Elmer didn't...." He desperately ran his thoughts back to the last time that he had seen Elmer. Had there been any signs, any signals that Elmer might have been contemplating suicide? He really didn't think his friend was the type but....  
  
"Definitely not." Hook said with a firm shake of his head. "Lona was monitoring him right before it happened. She says he was asleep and who else would know sleep better than her. The problem is how Steg found out what happened. We brought Elmer down to the sleep lab to prevent this problem so...."  
  
Just then the door opened once more and Carrie slid in. She had came downstairs out of concern for Lona but now hearing what Hook was saying, her worry was definitely shifting to Elmer. "I can think of one way." she said quietly. "If Stegman took Elmer up to the roof to begin with." 


	21. Chapter 21

"So, what would you like to do today, Elmer?" Lona said with an encouraging smile as she looked over at him. Elmer had been silent the entire drive down to Portland, something that she definitely found strange to say the least. Sometimes you couldn't even get a word in edgewise with him, after all. She couldn't believe this but she really wished that he would start trying to flirt with her or something, anything to convince her that he was back to normal. Silence just wasn't good on Elmer.  
  
Elmer stared at Lona in a bit of shock. He still wasn't able to believe that this was actually happening. First, Lona took him to her house willingly and fed him and now she was wanting to spend the day with him and on top of that wanted to do what he would like? Okay, this was more than a bit weird.  
  
"Elmer? I kind of need to know so that I can know where to turn."  
Lona said with a gentle smile. She just hoped that he didn't pick something that she couldn't keep up with him during. She really wasn't as young as she used to be and Elmer acted like the Energizer Bunny sometimes,  
after all.  
  
"I don't know." And honestly even if he hadn't been a bit weirded out by the situation, Elmer wouldn't know what to suggest. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been to Portland. And of course, even if he could remember and think of something, he wouldn't want to risk offering a suggestion for something that Lona might hate. Okay, he had pretty much concluded that he definitely had to be dying for her to be acting like this but still, he wouldn't want to spend his last day alive with her angry at him.  
  
Okay, maybe the drive wasn't the best idea after all. Lona pulled into the nearest parking lot and stopped the car, looking over at Elmer with concern. He ought to have been taking outrageous advantage of this and using the situation to try to cozy up to her and flirt. Why was he just sitting there so quietly? "Elmer?" She reached out and put a hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"  
  
He nodded. "I just don't want to suggest anything that you wouldn't like. And I haven't been down here in years anyway so.... You decide."  
  
Okay, Lona could understand what Elmer was thinking a little but.  
She shook her head slightly at the idea of picking what Elmer might enjoy doing. What she would like would be simple, a swing by the nearest mall to hit Starbucks and then visiting a bookstore but Elmer... Okay, she thought when she had left with him that she had an idea of the kind of things that he would be pestering her to do, some sort of childish, silly thing, but now that she was here with him, she wasn't quite so sure. She looked over at him, studying him carefully. How much did she really know about Elmer anyway, well beyond the pranks and the constant flirting?  
  
"Lona?" Elmer wasn't sure that he liked the way she was looking at him. Was she trying to figure out how much more time there was before he dropped dead and she was free of him?  
  
"Why don't we go by the mall and hit Starbucks and then maybe we can find someplace and talk. Would you like that?" She couldn't believe that she was offering to spend the day chatting with Elmer, was sure that they would have absolutely nothing to discuss beyond the weather or the hospital but still...  
  
"You want to talk?" Elmer asked in puzzlement. Lona never wanted to talk to him. Well, okay, he hadn't tried asking her to talk but.  
"Would you like to? We could find someplace near the water, some place quiet, after we go and get some coffee." Lona reached out and gently patted his arm as she spoke.  
  
Elmer couldn't speak for a moment but just nodded his agreement.  
He finally found his voice once more as Lona started the car and headed back out onto the highway to find the closest way to the mall for coffee.  
"So, Lona, if I promise not to get upset, will you tell me what I'm going to die from?" 


	22. Chapter 22

"You think Stegman took Elmer up to the roof?" Sonny asked Carrie,  
his eyes widening as he thought about it. If Elmer hadn't been trying to commit suicide and the more that Sonny thought about it, the more that he felt sure that if Elmer was going to do such a think it certainly wouldn't be on the hospital roof. "You know he wouldn't even go out on the roof when we found out that there were these two nurses who were up there...."  
Sonny suddenly stopped when he noticed both Louis and Hook looking at him suspiciously. "Admiring the view. They were just admiring the view and I wanted to go and.... Well, check out the view too but Elmer wouldn't go out there. It totally freaked him out. I think he's scared of heights or something." Sonny felt his own anger increasing at the thought that Stegman could have done something like that to his friend. Okay, Elmer could act like an idiot at times but still, he didn't deserve something like that. And Johnny B. Goode hadn't checked that roof fencing in months.  
What if Elmer had stumbled against the fencing and fallen?  
  
"How would he know where Elmer was unless he was the one who took him up there?" Carrie said quietly. Okay, Elmer had freaked her with his little head stunt but for someone to take him up to the roof like that considering what happened to his brother up there.... That was beyond cruel. Suddenly determination washed over her. No, no way was Stegman going to get away with this. "Come on, Sonny. I need your help with something." She motioned from to follow her as she headed back for the door. "Don't worry, Louis. We'll handle Stegman."  
  
"I wonder if she can stay conscious long enough to do anything to Stegman?" Hook said quietly, causing Chris to play hit him.  
  
"Carrie doesn't faint that much." Chris hissed, before chuckling slightly. Okay, Carrie did spend a whole lot of time on the floor instead of her feet, she had to admit. The nurse had looked seriously ticked at Stegman though so maybe she would manage to stay conscious for a bit this time. Chris sure hoped so. It looked like Carrie had it seriously in for Stegman. Of course, who in the hospital didn't have it in for him?  
  
Hook nodded after a moment. For now, they would leave Carrie and Sonny to handle Steg. They had to worry about getting these cops settled down and out of here before Elmer got back. Hook was hoping that Lona would be able to keep him far from the hospital for a bit but given how their relationship.... Relationship. He shook his head at that. Lona would freak if she knew he had been thinking of her, Elmer and a relationship in the same sentence. Well, he thought she would have anyway,  
at least until what had happened last night. He didn't have time to think about the situation right now, though. Those cops didn't seem like they were leaving.  
  
"Is there some sort of problem?" Hook said as he walked over to join Jesse, motioning for Chris to keep an eye on Louis. The older doctor was definitely not taking the insults to his son well at all.  
  
"Well, it seems that the police have a small problem, something I'm sure you can work out of course." Jesse said with a chuckle. Oh, Hook better have an idea for how to fix this before the press got wind of it!  
"It seems that since the received a report that Elmer murdered Dr.  
Massingale, they have to take it seriously."  
  
"What?" Hook stared at the police in almost shock. These were the same cops who hadn't taken the series of murders up on the psych floor seriously and now they were jumping to take some stupid thing Steg cooked up seriously? "Listen, I can assure you that Elmer did not do a single thing to Lona." Okay, he had done a series of things including giving her a head as a token of his affection but the cops didn't need to know that.  
"You know how rumors get started and...."  
  
"Your hospital seems to have more than it's fair share of rumors,  
you know. Some people say this place is haunted." the lead officer said.  
"Haunted? Just another of those silly rumors." Jesse said with a nervous chuckle. Oh, if he ever got this current mess straightened out, he was calling his aunt and demanding that Professor Jensen get over there and collect his sister right away. That child did not have permission to be here! "No, as Dr. Hook was saying, we're very sorry for this silly little rumor and any inconvience that it might have caused you but Elmer and Dr.  
Massingale are both fine so...."  
  
"And I'm very sorry but until I can see this Dr. Massingale for myself and make sure that a crime hasn't been committed, I'm going to have to take the report we received seriously so unless she happens to be here...."  
  
"Lona's out for the day. With Elmer." Hook said with a grimace.  
"But I'm sure you know where they were going so we can straighten out this little mixup." Jesse said as he looked over at Hook.  
"Do you tell people where you're going on a date? I have no clue where they are." Okay, Lona might kill him later when she found out he had told people she was on a date with Elmer but surely that was better than the rumor that she had been murdered by Elmer.  
  
"Well, until you can produce this Dr. Massingale, I'm afraid we're going to have to continue to take the report seriously." The officer said.  
  
Hook and Chris practically had to drag Louis out of the morgue before he could explode at the cops. "Louis, calm down. We don't know where Elmer and Lona are, remember? We can't exactly call Elmer down to bail you out if you get arrested." Hook told the older doctor before looking over at Chris. "Chris, can you call Lona's cell and get her back here?" He hated to ruin things for Elmer but he didn't see any other choice.  
  
"I could but it wouldn't do any good. She left it down in the lab.  
I remember seeing it charging this morning." Chris told him.  
  
"So it looks like we have to wait until Lona and Elmer decide to come back." Hook said.  
  
"And in the meantime, the police are going to be investigating my son for murder!"  
  
"Wherever you are, Elmer, I think you better keep going." Hook muttered under his breath. He just hoped the younger doctor was enjoying himself. 


	23. Chapter 23

"Okay, so it isn't a brain tumor." Elmer said slowly as he followed Lona through the mall heading for the food court and coffee.  
"Aneurysm. Is that what's going to kill me? I promise I won't get upset if you tell me." Aneurysm. Wouldn't his father want that fixed, though?  
Well, unless it was big and fixing it might leave his dad stuck caring for him forever, that is.  
  
"Elmer, you aren't dying." Lona said as she rolled her eyes.  
Honestly, some of the things that he had suggested in the car for things that might potentially kill him.... Apparently Elmer had either read his neuro textbooks or something because she had actually had to think for a bit before recalling what some of the diseases that he had suggested were.  
  
"Okay, did you decide that those weird dreams were the first symptom of...." Elmer knew that he had to be dying. He just wished that Lona would tell him. He didn't want to mess up being with her, of course,  
but he just wanted to know, wanted to have a chance to brace himself for what was to come and a horrible afterlife and years and years without Lona.  
  
"Elmer, those dreams are only a sign that you really need to get out of the hospital more. And stay out of the morgue." Lona chuckled slightly as she thought of the head incident before the morgue dinner she had shared with Elmer drifted to the front of her mind. "Well, you can arrange another dinner in the morgue if you like. Just behave otherwise,  
okay?"  
  
Did Elmer just hear what he thought he heard, Lona seeming to be giving him permission to set up another morgue dinner for them? He shook his head, not really able to believe his ears. She had to be doing this because he was dying. That was all that he could figure. "Lona...."  
  
"Elmer, I promise that you aren't dying, okay?" Lona cut him off before he could continue, play whacking him on the arm once more. "And if you were ever dying, I promise you that I would tell you about it."  
Honestly, was she really so bad to Elmer that he would think it would take his impending demise to get a show of good behavior towards him? She didn't even want to think about that. "Come on. Let's go get the coffee and then find somewhere to go."  
  
A few minutes later, large coffee in hand and the second cup in the other, Lona turned with a sigh of pleasure. "Okay, let's go and...." Just then she realized that instead of talking to Elmer, she was suddenly conversing with empty air. "Elmer?" Oh, this was just perfect. Take Elmer out for the day to keep him safe and here she managed to lose him in a shopping mall. She was just glad that Louis wasn't there to see this.  
"Elmer?" She called his name again as she scanned the area searching for any sign of him. How could he have vanished so quickly?  
  
A moment later, she relaxed when she caught sight of him, staring into a store window so intently that his nose was almost pressed against the glass. Lona headed towards him, a bit of annoyance starting to build in spite of her determination to not get upset with Elmer today. Why did he.... "Elmer, what are you doing over here?"  
  
Elmer jumped slightly when he heard Lona's voice, the suppressed annoyance apparent to him right away. Oh, great. He had finally managed to blow things. He had been sure that he would eventually, of course, but he had had the vague hope that maybe he would somehow manage to avoid it be some miracle.  
  
"Elmer, it's okay. I was just worried when I didn't see you."  
Lona shook her head slightly as she saw the expression on Elmer's face.  
Honestly, was she so bad to him that he reacted like that when she wasn't even yelling? Yelling, it seemed like that was all she did with Elmer most of the time. Really, she had to do something about that. "So, what's this place?"  
  
"Ummmm...." Elmer felt a bit embarrassed, sure that if he told Lona what the store was and what he was wanting to do, she would laugh at him. She was watching him expectantly, though, and he knew he had to say something. "It looks like they make bears here. Could we go in?"  
  
"You want to...." Lona felt herself starting to react badly to Elmer once more and had to firmly grab hold of herself and give herself a strong mental shape. So what if Elmer wanted to look in a bear store? She had told him she would do what he wanted that day, after all, and if this was something he wanted to do.... "Okay, Elmer, let's go. I just hope they don't say anything about the coffee." Honestly, she felt annoyance not with Elmer but with herself, as they entered. She had always felt that Elmer was much to young and childish for her but now that she thought of it, maybe part of the problem was not with Elmer but with her acting decades older than her actual age. Maybe she could use a bit of a lightening up as much as Elmer could use a bit of seriousness occasionally.  
  
"You don't mind if I get one, do you?" Elmer asked after they had walked around the store for a little bit, looking at both the animals and the various outfits lining the walls.  
  
Lona started to say something that she knew instinctively was the wrong thing and grabbed it before the remark could slip out. Just for today, why couldn't she just go with the flow and have fun with Elmer?  
  
"Okay, which one?" As she saw him pick up a black bear, she felt a smile coming on. Apparently they were making an Elmer bear here. She drifted over to the clothing selections as Elmer tended to the stuffing process,  
not really believing she was doing this even as she was reaching up and snagging a little lab coat off of the wall.  
  
"Here you go." She said as she handed it to Elmer as he approached her, a moment later, adding a small bag full of stuffed medical toy props as well. "And you might need this too."  
  
Elmer looked at Lona in surprise that she was actually helping with this instead of sitting there watching and thinking what an idiot he was before reaching out and taking the things that she was holding out. What in the world was going on today? 


End file.
